


Accident

by sv962



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Humor, Awkward Boners, Blood and Injury, Bottom Gavin Reed, Bottom Upgraded Connor | RK900, Edgeplay, Eventual Smut, Fake Dating, Gavin Reed Being an Asshole, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gavin is in denial about the entire soulmate thing, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nines is a ball of softness and insecurities, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Protective bois are protective, Reed900 Reverse Big Bang (Detroit: Become Human), Resolved Sexual Tension, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Suicide Attempt, Switching, Top Gavin Reed, Top Upgraded Connor | RK900, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Is Bad at Feelings, but also kinda real in the end, but he's horny on main and has it bad for Gavin, wireplay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:21:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 118,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28241556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sv962/pseuds/sv962
Summary: In a world where everyone gets their soul-marks before their twenties, Detective Gavin Reed, 37, is still mark-less. As he finally resigned to the possibility of living the rest of his life alone, one RK900 android shows up at his precinct, asking for a partnership.Some may think of it as destiny. Everyone taught him thatfate is never wrong.But there must have been a margin of error, could it?«Maybe we can work a way to avoid you thinking of it as a disgrace, Detective»«You’re saying it right after breaking a hinge of my door and violating the privacy of this sacred house»
Relationships: Background Hank Anderson/Connor, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 104
Kudos: 143
Collections: Reed900 Reverse Big Bang





	1. // PARTITION 1 // – Fate is (never) wrong

**Author's Note:**

> This work contains **references to _self-harm, suicide attempt and depictions of blood_**.
> 
> Hello! This is my submission for the [Reed900 Reverse Big Bang!](https://reed900reversebigbang.tumblr.com/post/619400094608916480/come-join-the-reed900-reverse-big-bang), a celebration of the Reed900 pairing! I've been paired with a great artist (and friend) [Aurea-b](https://aurea-b-art.tumblr.com). Her art will feature in the second (and last) chapter so if you can, go check her out cause she makes amazing Hannor and Reed900 art! I'm so thankful for having the possibility to take part in this event and even more for the patience of my partner. Aurea, thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll never stop saying thank you for bearing with me and my writing times. 🧡
> 
> As you probably read here, this work contains some trigger warnings, so I suggest you view them before proceeding on reading!  
> This said, I hope you're gonna enjoy the story! Stay tuned for the next update!

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 1 \\\

So what, everyone could have a bad day.

Nothing to be amazed of.

But a day like that?

Oh no, it had to be a plot against him, a conspiracy that someone genially and maniacally concocted against him during the scarce hours of sleep he seldom got every night. Cause he could have sworn on the little he had left of his honor that there was no way, no way, a day could go this wrong over the span of few hours.

It all started that morning when he literally woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

The tip of his right sock was sporting a hole that definitely wasn’t there the night before –God only knows how that happened and if it had been the work of one of his cats during his sleep. As soon as his clothed feet hit the floor, he felt a puddle of sticky and shapeless matter wet his toes which later was revealed to be his cat’s previous night’s dinner.

«Phcking peachy».

He knelt down, one too many creaks in his back as he bent to clean the dirt off the carpet with a few tissues from the box near his nightstand, the alarm clock still ringing undaunted in the background and the annoying noise of drops falling from the radiators that for the umpteenth time failed to turn on, leaving a pool of dirty water on the floor.

No doubt on why his day started this bad.

He was cold, his room was a battlefield, humid and dirty as a trench’s infirmary during the First World War and whenever he tried to reorganize his thoughts, his phone’s ringtone kept breaking through his mind, unbearable trills that did nothing but aggravate his headache.

He miraculously found his slippers under the bed but the damage was already done, his socks were damp and dirty, his feet cold and his cats, Princess and Arsehole, were obnoxiously rubbing against his calves, meowing impatiently and desperate for attention.

And here he was, Gavin Reed, 37, standing half-naked in his bedroom, still half-asleep and desperately in need to put his socks in the washer as soon as possible. _Or burn them directly_.

He made a beeline for the bathroom, mildly catching sight of his reflection in the mirror.

«Yup. Today I suck more than usual».

Dark circles, hanging bags from his eyes, and stubble more unkempt than usual.

Nothing a beard trimmer and a sprinkle of deodorant couldn’t fix to make him presentable for yet another day of work suffering, eight hours of certified agony, barely tolerating the irritating voice of the plastic prick, his devious remarks, and his stupid courtesies. If only he could shut up for one hour instead of testing his patience on a daily basis.

Every day, Connor was one day shorter to not making it to his first birthday.

Ugh.

“ _Birthday_ ”. As if he were human.

He opened the tap and watched as water swirled down the drain. As he cupped his hands, his gaze inevitably went to his barren, unmarked wrist.

His phalanges bore feeble scars now covered by brown hair, cuts from when he was sixteen and had punched the mirror and shattered it out of anger. Just another regular day back from school, another day of a classmate that found their soulmate and got to experience love for the first time.

Even those damn androids were luckier than him.

Even Hank.

Hank who had been the only one he had always felt close to, the only one who always had been mark-less, who married a woman out of desperation, just to console himself and avoid spending the rest of his days alone, who had seen his entire world fall apart only six years into his marriage.

Who made it to work only if Russian roulette didn’t kill him the night before, living his life one bottle of Black Daniels a day.

And despite this, even that man – _a pathetic fifty-year-old geezer head over hills for an android_ , looked more decent than the man that was looking at him in the mirror, hands gripping the edges of the ceramic sink as the water kept spiraling down the drain, white noise that covered the voices in his head, reminding him of his inadequacy, of his miserable life, once again destined to eternal loneliness.

Some days it was just tougher than others.

It wasn’t the first time he felt left behind by the rest of the world.

He had a master list of all the colleagues who soon after joining the force had already managed to find their soulmate at the venerable age of twenty-five. Some of them found them by accident, jokes of fate that made him bitterly laugh and mock his colleagues, like when Officer Person handcuffed a granola bar thief at Wal-Mart, only to find out that they were destined to be together.

Even Chris Miller, the department’s mascot before Connor showed up and stole the heart of every sentient being within the walls of the office, had found the person of his life through his work, during a collaboration with the Chicago Police Department.

He didn’t have an attitude because he wanted to.

But every time he woke up, be it in the early morning or in the middle of the night, his clean right wrist remembered him of his doomed loneliness. The dump that was his apartment in the last years, the dark circles around his neglected face, the unkempt beard, the cups of coffee stacked on the kitchen counter and the fact that anyone who hadn’t met his soulmate by the age of thirty was probably destined to spend the rest of his life in solitude were really doing numbers on his mental health.

He had spent years of his life waiting for the fateful moment.

An exchange of touches for the magic to happen.

He put on the shirt of the day before, soaked in the smell of too many smoked cigarettes and coffees drunk at dawn, and covered his head with the hood of the sweatshirt, greeting his cats before closing the door behind him.

As he drove to work, he already had the impression that the day wasn’t getting any better.

All the parking lots at the police station were occupied and he had had to find a place in the side streets of Detroit. He tried in vain to pay for the parking meter, but apparently, his app decided to bug out that damn day. A paying app. In an all-digital world.

A quick glance at his cell-phone was enough to make him notice that for once he was at least half an hour late for his job.

The bullpen was a living hell and, _good Lord_ , he really wished to be elsewhere right now. Oh, to be gifted the possibility to go on field investigation as soon as possible. The last thing he wanted was for some auxiliary traffic officer to notice his unpaid parking ticket and fine him.

He reluctantly sat at the desk, hood still covering his head and feet over the glass surface of the desk, covered in post-its and documents of closed cases that had yet to be transferred to the archives. His mood was sore and he still hadn’t got coffee.

Some days he just hoped his gruff and perennial scowl could be a social hint for his colleagues to avoid him. Most of the time, the entire bullpen let him be. Everyone hated him and he wouldn’t have changed that for anything in his life.

But among the plebes, there was someone who after five months of service still pretended he hadn’t the state-of-the-art social protocols. No wonder the plastic prick was now gingerly sitting with his pristine plastic ass glued to his desk, arms stiffly crossed and face sporting a triumphant smile on his puppy face.

«Hello, detective Reed».

Gavin rolled his eyes.

If experience had taught him anything, it was to keep his tongue at bay. A concussion on his ribs, a suspension, and a threat of dismissal and legal proceedings were enough of a deterrent even for someone undisciplined like him, that yet strongly wanted to make it to Sergeant and perhaps, in the near future, Second Lieutenant.

He reluctantly lifted his gaze, ignoring Connor’s smile, shining with the intensity of a damn 120-watt bulb. Huh, not exactly a panacea for his tired mug and the bags under his eyes, so damn heavy they looked almost about to fall on the floor.

Yup, it was definitely too early for him.

«Piss off, Connor. Got work to do».

This should have done the trick.

He should have just ignored him, pretending to be busy, keeping the tablet in one hand and looking absentmindedly at the screen. It would have been sufficient to give Connor a reason –at least a hint, to walk away and Anderson to stop spying on him from his desk on the other side of the office.

Connor curled his lips in a smile and, _oh_ , if only he had had a coffee that morning, he would have probably noticed by now that there was something inherently off in the way the android was acting.

If there was something he had learned in those months, it was that Connor had visibly become better at integrating among humans, movements less static and calculated, behaviors as fluid as water, and facial expressions more natural and sincere.

Gavin strived with admitting to himself he kind of grew softer to him. His resentment against androids mellowed out in the last months, though he was pretty sure his feelings towards Connor remained the same.

«You’re holding your tablet upside-down, by the way, Detective».

Gavin was dumbfounded as he lifted his gaze from the device, brain still slow to catch onto the conversation and eyes tired from the lack of caffeine intake ten minutes into work already.

He didn’t even flinch as he met android’s chocolate eyes, too dizzy and sleep-deprived to process his words. Connor had his beaming smile printed on his face, weirdly devoid of malice for once, brows lifted in an expression of playful complicity.

He could have easily thought of a retort, a snarky comment to shoo him away, but that cheerful grin kind of took the fun out of it.

Ugh. He could have been aggressive and act like the dick he was to him, but getting another concussion and a two weeks prognosis wasn’t really on his wish list (and it wasn’t like he could afford to visit the hospital that often. His insurance didn’t cover half of his injuries most of the time).

Every time he scowled at Connor, he got some deadly looks from Hank, silent threats that invited him to shut up, sometimes joined by looks of disapproval coming from Chris and Tina.

He placed the tablet on the desk and took a good look at the bullpen. There was less confusion than usual now, the meeting room was empty and most of the officers were probably out patrolling.

Well, no beating around the bush then.

«Okay, spill the beans, Connor. What’s going on»

He wasn’t in the mood for mysteries. The sooner everyone informed him of what was going on, the better it was. He stood up in a loud yawn and dragged himself to the break-room, craving the scent of coffee and the sweet release from tiredness, surprised that Connor had decided for once to follow him without asking questions.

Uh. Weird.

He had a bad feeling about this.

Maybe it was just paranoia.

«Captain Fowler is attending a meeting in the Eighth District. In the last three days, they have received reports of too many cases of missing androids. It’s highly possible they’re linked to the traffic of a more refined and elaborate version of Red Ice».

«Huh. What did ya call that purple shit again?».

« _Mauve Angel_ , detective».

Gavin stood on his toes, reaching to open the cabinet’s door, and stretched his arm to take his ceramic mug. He grunted in disappointment as he heard the chuckle coming from the android beside him.

«Havin’ fun, huh?».

«Sorry detective but», Connor grinned as he reached for the cup and offered it to him, eyebrows raised in an amused expression, «Sometimes I think you should just learn to put your pride aside and ask for help like every person on this planet. It isn’t that hard, you know?».

Gavin snatched the cup from his hand and checked it meticulously. It looked clean. Last time he took it, Connor kindly informed him that there were traces of spit on the edge with a DNA matching Officer Person’s.

«Stop lecturing me». He turned on the coffee machine and reluctantly waited for the dark liquid to slowly fill the cup, drop by drop. «How about your cases? You sure look like you’ve got your hands full with them. I kind of lowkey envy you. Collaborating with Narcotics is a pain in the ass, I’ll give you that much but the whole smuggling ring really brings back memories from when I was in the Red Ice task force. Good times».

Connor’s lips curved into a smirk.

«While the idea of having a file full of cases to work on is satisfying and certainly an incentive to push Lieutenant Anderson back into his work routine, I’m not particularly thrilled at the idea of investigating kidnapped androids most of the time killed on a daily basis to produce drugs».

Gavin looked at his cup and reached for the sugar jar, taking one spoonful of sugar.

If Connor’s sudden flinch was anything to go by, he was probably about to start rambling about calorie intake.

«Detective, you shouldn’t put that much sugar in–»

Gavin stirred the coffee in his cup and grinned.

«Sorry sweetheart, are you concerned about my health? Better not tell Hank. He may get jealous».

Connor didn’t miss a beat, keeping up with his teasing: «What can I say. I’m an altruistic android. I can’t help worrying for the health of a dear friend».

Gavin added another spoon of sugar in his coffee before giving him a death glare: «Oh, pardon me. I believe this morning’s coffee abstinence is playing tricks on my ears cause, you see, for a moment I almost believed I heard you affirming that we’re friends. Me, a human, and you, an android».

«You can’t deny the bromance going on here», Connor winked, _he bloody winked at him_ , and he hated admitting that his continuous attempts at befriending him definitely contributed to soften his feelings towards androids.

He rolled his eyes, sipping the coffee.

«Okay, I feel like you won’t leave me alone until you filled me in with the details», he ignored the beaming smile on Connor’s face, corners of his mouth curled out of happiness probably over the fact that he didn’t deny their almost mutual friendship, «How is going so long? Don’t you have a lead yet? Someone to interrogate?».

«All we know is that the victims are all androids that recently met their soulmate. The kidnappings occurred in different areas of Detroit though we registered sporadic cases even out of the town perimeter. They’re drastically increasing with each passing day. We’re trying to understand what’s so special about this new drug and why having a soulmate is a requirement. We think it could change the thirium properties, therefore allowing it to produce an even powerful drug. We don’t know the effects yet but the increased number of victims and kidnappings must surely mean it’s either highly addicting or its effects are powerful and sought out. Too bad so long we only hit dead ends».

«Big oof»

«Thank you for your eloquent answer Gavin», Connor followed the detective.

Gavin noticed he recently started to gesticulate more as he spoke. He apparently had filled a mug for himself with thirium, blue goo that looked no different from a blueberry juice. Fancy stuff in his opinion, but there was something endearing in the way an android with the aspect of a grown man in his thirties still sipped from a mug doggy-themed, with brown paws all over it, with a straw, like a five-year-old child in kindergarten.

«Honestly, working on these cases is quite bold of you, Connor», he laid an elbow on the coffee table, gesturing at the android in front of him, cheeks now hollowed as he sucked in the thirium and big doe eyes, «I mean, you’re risking big, wandering around carefree for Big Old Detroit City. You survived the Revolution five months ago and too many shootings. Aren’t you pushing your luck a little?».

«Oh. I didn’t know the last update for the human Detective Reed included a patch called _empathy.exe_ ».

Gavin flipped him the bird, but there was no bite in it.

«Phck off, you and your tech-humor. I’m just acting decent to avoid getting my ass kicked by Fowler», his smirk really betrayed his feelings though, and he didn’t really mind the bartering at this point, «Listen, you have a mark on your right wrist. You’re kind of a high-risk subject in my opinion, dude».

He gestured at the android jacket’s handcuffs. The shirt covered his arms but his soul mark was still visible for those who knew where to look.

In the beginning, knowing that androids could have soulmates as well made him deeply uncomfortable. If fate ever paired him with an android, he would have probably preferred jumping off a cliff or the top of a skyscraper rather than find himself sharing a bed and the rest of his life with a being that was made of polymers, silicone, and way too much carbonium fibers for his likes.

He could do an entire lifetime without falling asleep to the noise of a pair of fans kicking in when it was too hot and a corpse that didn’t even breathe. Thank you very much, his computer already made enough noise when it was running three tabs of Google Chrome.

Yup, he could definitely do without.

Connor’s gaze looked suddenly darker and absorbed as he seemed to ponder the implications of their conversation.

«I know I’m risking big. Hank… really wants me off the case. But those people are dying. And working can make a difference for those people. Staying at home won’t».

«Listen, I’m not saying you should drop the case and all. Just, put yourself in that geezer’s shoes. He’s just concerned for you. You know. He cares. Been a long time since he last gave a shit about work, life, or even trimmed his beard. I, huh...».

He hesitated and he couldn’t help but lower his eyes to his empty cup.

«I wouldn’t want you to get shot and splurt goo from your head before your time. If someone has to do the honors, that someone’s gotta be me».

Connor tilted his head, grinning in amusement: «Gavin, you’ve always been mister semantics».

«My mom always told me I was special. Time you recognized that too, dipshit», he dropped the mug in the sink, «Well, if I gave a shit about androids I would have probably offered my help in your investigation. But, hey!», as he stacked the cup in the cupboard, once again on the tip of his toes, he proudly shrugged his shoulders, «I don’t make the rules! So, sucks to be you, right?».

Connor curled the corners of his mouth, leaning against the doorframe of the break room.

“ _REED! IN MY OFFICE!_ ”

The bullpen thundered as Fowler stumbled in the department, coat hanging from his shoulder and a dossier under his arm. His hazel eyes and deep voice betrayed a certain urgency. He scanned the entire department until he caught glimpse of the detective.

Gavin exchanged a quick look with Connor.

«Tsk, the phck does he want now...».

As he saw him going off, Connor could feel a wash of satisfaction filling his soul.

«Yup, Gavin. Sucks to be me».

Honestly, Gavin wasn’t the superstitious type.

Negative?, yes. Depressed?, also. Salty?, always.

But he wasn’t the kind of person that compulsively consulted the horoscope and decided to believe right off the bat that the sign of Libra would have had unpleasant surprises on April 27th. Horoscopes had no reliability. And he was a man in his thirties. Heck, that year he would have been thirty-seven. Not exactly the right age to read the horoscope section on the newspaper and say: “ _Ah, shit, today I’d better avoid_ salad forks. You never know what could happen”.

Yet, it would have been wiser if he had just stayed at home that day.

Mopping the pavement, washing the dirty carpet, maybe trimming his stubble, getting some rest for his dark circles and cleaning the stacked cups of coffee near the kitchen sink before his cats could knock them off the counter and hurt themselves accidentally with the sharp broken pieces of ceramic.

He should have definitely taken the day off.

Because it wasn’t getting any better.

When he entered Fowler’s office, he barely noticed that of the two chairs in front of the desk, one was occupied. Fowler shouting and calling him out like this was never a prelude to something good, so all he could do was stand by the door, ready to storm off if something went wrong, hands drumming on his thighs following the rhythm of the medley from the KoolAid commercial.

His mind tried to provide him explanations over Fowler’s shift of mood, besides the drug ring.

He couldn’t think of a logical reason for being there. And logical coming from him was big talk. Better play it cool. Maybe it was nothing.

«Listen Cap’tain, if that’s again about that time me and Tina headbutted my locker cause we both forgot the combination for it, I already said I’m sorry and I’ll pay for–».

Fowler got a stern look on his face and the intertwined hands resting on his desk were as unforgiving as the pout he was sporting at the grim reminder of the still broken locker.

Only then did it dawn on Gavin that the chair in front of his desk was occupied.

«Who the phck is this?», at the unforgiving eyeful of the Captain, Gavin just gulped, «Oh for the love of God, Captain don’t tell me he’s the traffic officer! Christ, come on! My app bugged out! I’m a phckin’ policeman, I work here! Did you really call me out in front of this bunch of idiots just to pay for a freakin’ parking ticket?!».

«Reed», Fowler shook his head and nudged him to just sit, «He’s not the auxiliary traffic officer».

«Oh, good to hear».

With the last month’s veterinary bills and health insurance, he was in no condition to pay a hefty fine for his infractions. He relaxed on the chair, back slowly leaning against the hard plastic of the backrest, and only then did he notice that the person at his side had vaguely tilted his head to look at him.

Uh.

If the guy’s hair was anything to go by, he could swear he vaguely, remotely resembled–

_“YOU DID WHAT?!”_

From the other side of the office, Connor had just lifted his gaze from his terminal, meeting the Lieutenant’s blue irises.

«So it began», quickly prompted Hank, not even flinching for a second.

Chris leaned from his desk, now rolling over to them with his chair and giggling in satisfaction: «Well, well. Looks like Tina owes each of us ten dollars».

«I can’t believe she thought Gavin’s gay ass would really prevent him from freaking out at the idea of being partnered up with an android», Hank shook his head and he lazily eyed the box near his terminal, a Tupperware stuffed with celery, carrots, and crackers that Connor lovingly prepared for him the same morning.

His appetite just died and his gaze returned to the terminal and the Solitary game he was playing by the time the detective was called into the office. Despite the tantrum he was throwing inside the soundproof glass walls, everyone well knew it wouldn’t even come close to the rage he would have unleashed once out.

«I feel pity for RK900», Chris shook his head, not even bothering to pretend to work as he looked to the office. The detective was furiously waving his hands, red to the tip of his ears. «I mean, the guy seems okay. Gavin is a good person if you know how to handle him and don’t let him get to you. But pairing a rookie with someone like him for a partner seems like a suicidal mission, Connor. He’ll be asking for a transfer in no time».

«I highly doubt it», Hank loudly yawned, stretching on his seat, «The kid asked for the partnership himself. He may look like a rookie but he’s got potential. Though I agree joining the Reed team sounds a lot like speeding with a car with broken brakes».

«Wait. You’re basically telling me they weren’t assigned but he picked him?! He’s nuts?!»

«Trust me Chris, I’m as confused as you here. Me and Con both tried to change his mind and get him to reason for days. He just– I don’t know, man. Sometimes things happen and you don’t know how to explain them. He just saw Gavin’s resume and told Connor that he would either work with him or no one else».

Chris spied the way Gavin’s agitated hands were now thrown in the air.

«You two are really sure that android doesn’t have a few screws loose», he convened as he took out a twenty dollars bill from the wallet, «Just sayin’ cause I’m pretty adamant to bet that by the end of the day one of them returns here either with a broken nose or a purple eye. I give their partnership one work day».

«Boy, Chris. When did you take up on gambling?», Hank friendly teased him as he stretched his arm to take the bill.

«Well, I have no vices do I? No drinking, no smoking. Might as well make a coin or two with betting on my best friend».

«I’m not partnering with a plastic prick, Captain!», Gavin slammed his hands on the desk, glass slightly crackling under the pressure of his palms.

He turned towards the android, pointing his index at him: «Just– Come on, Fowler! I know that your reasons are valid and you’re my boss. Fine. I can work with that. But you can’t force me to work with someone who is a- an android, for phck’s sake! And Connor’s lookalike! Come on, what did I do to wrong you?!».

The clicking of the captain’s pen became more insistent and nosier with every passing second, and even the rudimentary social protocols of RK900 could easily sense that Fowler was struggling to keep at bay his repressed anger, relying on the few ounces of self-control he had left.

His partner-to-be apparently didn’t notice any of this.

«You broke your locker by head-butting it cause you forgot the combination, got into a fight twice with one of our first android detectives ever and risked a diplomatic incident when the Queen of England came here on visit by saying that the idea of having a queen was silly! Honestly, I never thought someone could literally pull that line and not even apologize for it! But obviously, I was mistaken».

«Well, thanks»

«That wasn’t a compliment, Reed». Fowler frowned, arms now crossed, «Listen, it won’t be long. You’ve been working on three minor cases in the last month and none of them still led somewhere. We’re short-handed here with this whole thing and honestly, as much as I detest admitting it since you’re quite the troublemaker yourself, I need a good detective on this and Ben chickened out on me even before I could ask. The other districts aren’t willing to put their hands into android business so this leaves... you».

«So wait, you’re asking someone who hates androids with all his might to partner up with a plastic prick and go investigating on a matter that has already the Gay Team on it and the Narcotics Unit?».

«Come on, drop the act Reed. I saw you barter with Connor five minutes ago».

Gavin sneered: «That-! I was trying to be civil! I’m not best buds with him!».

«Oh, I must have been under the wrong assumption then. I thought that you were already on a first-name basis».

«Aw, piss off», Gavin slouched on the chair and finally eyed the android next to him, «Hey. What’s up with you? Cat’s got your tongue? I can’t believe you’re really chill with being partnered with the asshole of the department. I’m gonna make your life impossible, tin can, you hear me?».

RK900 raised his brows, LED spinning yellow.

«Uh, yeah, analyze me. The prick didn’t tell you it’s rude to stare at someone for too long?».

«Listen, Reed, I don’t give a flying fuck about what you do or don’t but if I hear that this partnership is going down the hill like the other attempts in the last ten years I’m kicking you out of the department for good, you hear me? We need to crack this case, Jericho is on us and we’re lucky this hasn’t made it to the news yet or we’d have to deal with a horde of journalists and you know if there’s something I hate more than FBI agents coming here just to get their faces punched is journalists coming here just to have their noses broken».

«It happened only once and it wasn’t even broken»

«THEY GAVE THAT MAN TEN STITCHES, GAVIN!»

«Yeah, yeah, not a big deal. With all the anesthetic he probably didn’t even feel a thing»

Fowler pinched his nose, staring at his desk and the reflection of his tired face on the clean glass.

«Reed. That’s the door. The cases are on your terminal and I’d strongly advise you to leave this office before I kick your shins. You screw up with him and I’m gonna fire you for good».

Gavin scrunched his nose.

The glass door closed behind him and if there was something Hank still hadn’t learned in all the time he spent in the force was to be as subtle as a bull in a China shop.

Chris had returned to his desk and Connor had his head submerged in the physical copies of the investigations and interrogations made so far, but Hank was visibly peeking and had lowered his gaze on the desk too late for Gavin not to notice him.

«Hope you’re content with yourself, plastic!», Gavin rapidly ran down the stairs of the glass office, making a beeline for Connor’s desk, voice hoarse after all the shouting and yelling, «Acting nicely just to get me partnered up with your doppelganger! Nice friend you are! Phck you and phck your niceties! Hope you choke on your blue shit next time you drink it! You son of a photocopier».

Connor looked at him in pure astonishment.

«I- Gavin besides from the fact that androids can’t physically choke–»

Hank’s lips made a shushing expression when RK900 cut him off.

«Connor isn’t at fault».

Gavin drifted his gaze to the android behind him.

Right. He had almost forgotten about him.

«You shut your mouth! When I’m done with him I swear I’m coming for your..»

His words slowly died out as he met his eyes.

Uh, he was awfully tall.

Not that he was able to notice that earlier, considering the fact that he was sitting and when he shouted at Fowler he didn’t get that much time to give him a good look. He really was the spitting image of Connor yet–

Icy and elusive eyes. Firm jaw. High and black collar that completely hid his neck. Dark and almost serious brows.

Oh. Now they were knitting.

What in the holy mackerel was going on into that plastic’s head? He looked like he didn’t even know what expression he wanted to convey. His hand was there, in front of him, slightly hanging, like in an attempt of a shake.

«Don’t bust my balls for the next hour, RK-whatever. I’m not smooching my partner like Hank. So my piece of advice for you is to stay 6 feet away from me. No touching, no talking, no shaking hands or other partnering mumbo jumbo, you hear me? Let me do the investigation and tag along with your mouth shut like a child who just happened to be traumatized after the death of Mufasa».

RK900 titled his head. He looked at his open hand.

«Am I doing this wrong?», he tentatively asked, «I thought it was common courtesy between colleagues to shake hands upon first meeting».

«‘m not your colleague», Gavin slid his hands into the hoodie’s pockets, giving one last scowl to Connor and Hank and promptly walking towards his desk, «You wanna get along with me? Just told you the rules».

«Your rules sound a lot despotic»

«Yeah, man, welcome to America. You can either walk out of the office and hope to survive by yourself in this hellhole of the world or just follow my despotic rules», he emphasized the word with his fingers, talking in air quotes.

The android lowered his gaze.

Detective Reed was already ahead of him, muttering curses as he slouched at his terminal with his curved back, scrolling through the cases to check which ones Lieutenant Anderson and Connor already investigated and which were worthy to look into. From the information he received from his predecessor, it looked like the detective knew almost everything about the case, despite he insisted on making everyone believe he was oblivious to it and was minding his own business.

Connor already sent him the records of all the times Gavin accessed with Fowler’s ID to the cases’ information. He could play dumb all he wanted, but he looked like he was ready to jump into the investigation as soon as he would have been presented the opportunity.

RK900’s LED spun yellow as he calculated all the possible outcomes of that day.

So long he did all Connor’s data suggested him to do to avoid conflicts: ignore detective Reed’s provocations, don’t talk back if not necessary, and don’t seek confrontation. Just stay still and do what you’re told for the moment. _Gain his trust_.

Yet.

«Whatcha waiting for? A kiss on the cheek?», the grunting voice of the detective disrupted his thoughts as he gestured at him, «Impaled there like a goddamn statue. Move around a bit or the cleaning staff’s gonna think you’re part of the décor. Phckin’ androids, all the same».

RK900 twitched his lips.

His gaze searched across the room for Connor, but he was met with a condescending smile. He knew that expression. His predecessor wore it the same day he communicated him he wanted to be partnered up with Reed.

“ _You may want to rethink that decision. There are so many options you should be considering, RK. You’re the most advanced prototype ever created! There’s a world of endless possibilities for you out there! You could even be employed by the FBI! If investigation’s really your vocation, you may as well apply directly for them_ ”.

He didn’t want to.

As much as the concept of wanting was still a rather new experience to him, he strongly felt that lingering feeling when it came to picking a partner.

«Can I suggest we pick the most recent case on the list?», he hid his hands behind his back, quietly approaching the detective, gentle and cautious steps as he closed the distance between them, now hovering over the terminal and casting a shadow over the frame of Gavin without directly invading his personal space, «The last victim disappeared yesterday near Campus Martius Park. She got abducted the moment her partner got to the nearby bistro to take something to eat for both of them».

Gavin twisted his lips as he stared into the android’s gray eyes.

His brows really looked lower than Connor’s and his expression was much more stern and mournful than the latter. His LED flickered amber as he displayed the victim’s profile on the detective’s terminal.

«Elise Tadson», monotonously read out loud Gavin, clearing his voice as he felt his throat scratching from exertion, «Android from the AX400 line, Serial number bla bla bla, activation is dated less than one year ago. Oh. Engaged with her soulmate Jeremiah Wilson, human. Huh».

Less than one year. And yet she had a soulmate.

Shit.

«Detective?».

He realized way too late that he had been nervously tapping his fingers on the desk for the whole time.

«Is… the idea of an android getting a soul mark disturbing to you?»

Ice slowly descended into the office as Hank sharply inhaled and Chris rolled in his chair, giving the detective’s desk his shoulders. Connor could be seen with his head buried in documents, violently shaking it, with the expression of who knew this was the calm before the storm.

«Are you implying something, plastic? Did someone tell you something about me?!», Gavin spun in his chair, but the will to grip the android by the shirt and smash him against the wall abandoned him as he realized it would have implied touching him, «So what, now you’re an expert on soulmates? Oh my God, I can’t believe all it took was some of you pricks to get a soul mark to go braggin’ around about how cool it is to find your soulmate so early and be loved unconditionally for the rest of your pathetic lives! Y’all disgust me».

«I–», RK900 cut himself off, brows knitted as he pondered his choices.

A quick scan could reveal the spike in the detective’s heartbeat, the higher blood pressure, and the anxiety that was quickly overtaking his body and every fiber of his being.

«I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be insensitive»

«Insentive?!», Gavin stuttered as the android’s curious eyes slowly looked at his wrist, olive skin barely exposed by the fabric of the jacket.

«Apparently, you don’t have a soul mark. I was too quick to judge. I thought that every human being had–»

«Oh God, great. Great. Outed by the bot I’m stuck working with.. God, I love my life. Hey, since you’re already here, care to shoot me in the knees? It’d be less painful, just to speak», he flinched, turning off the terminal and shoving his hands in the pockets, ignoring the almost surprised look on the RK900’s face, «Yes! Yes! I’m markless! Everyone in the bullpen, I have an announcement to make! I’m phcking markless! There. Happy?».

He waved his open arms, sarcastically smiling at the tall android.

«Everyone already knows that inside here and everybody avoids me like the damn plague because they want to be sure I don’t turn out to be anyone’s soulmate. And I don’t blame them, big guy. No one wants me as a soulmate and I don’t want any of the pricks breathing my same oxygen inside this room either! No offense, Chris», he said as he exchanged looks with him.

Miller slowly lifted his head: «None taken, buddy».

He could hear Connor’s rambling about not breathing his same oxygen, but he purposely decided to ignore him.

They had been partnered for less than a quarter of an hour and the guy was already pissing him off.

As they walked to the car, RK900 curiously studied his surroundings, taking mental notes on his HUD about the department’s members and IDs, identifying the frame of a fairly grayed detective returning to his office and barely nodding at Reed as they left the building and the ginger smile of a shorter girl, raven hair held tight in a bun as she gestured at them and mouthed “Call me later!”.

His facial recognition software later pointed her out to be Police Officer Tina Chen.

From Connor’s memories, they seemed to be good friends. And according to the records, she was markless too. Though it was probably better to not bring the topic up unless requested to [but highly unlikely].

Gavin steps were tired along the crosswalk.

His car wasn’t in the building’s parking lots but at ten minutes of walk.

And even if RK900 rarely spoke or talked to anyone in his few weeks of activation save for Lieutenant Anderson, Connor and Markus, he felt like he could do without words for now, enjoying the silence of the walk behind the detective.

He sure didn’t expect it to be broken the moment they reached his car.

«Aw, come on!», Gavin ripped the ticket from the car’s windscreen wiper, «95 dollars?! Are you serious?! Who’s the bastard that fined me?!».

RK900 gave a quick look to the fine, zooming on the QR code and identification numbers.

«Looks like Officer Person was on duty. She is the most likely to have done it», at the surprised gaze of the detective, he quickened to explain, «This area was assigned to her. If I insert the code of the parking area in the DPD’s database, I can find the officer responsible for patrolling here. Therefore, she is probably the one who fined you».

Gavin shove the ticket in his pockets and leaned with his forehead against the car chassis.

«First she spits in my mug and then this. Can this day get any worse?»

«Why didn’t you pay your parking ticket, detective?»

«Cause my app is bugged! And I didn’t want to! I work here, I work for this city! And if I can’t find my parking spot at the station, you can bet your pristine plastic ass that I’m not paying for parking anywhere else».

«That’s rather... illogical. You’re a citizen and you should pay like everyone else»

«Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you perfect, heavenly descended celestial beings just love rational things that go according to numbers. Well, let me tell you a thing or two, big guy. This car here?, is mine. We’re using it to go to the site of the disappearance. And you? You’re hopping on it. You could have used a patrolling car but instead, we’re using this. I could ask you to pay for the ride, you know?».

The android looked at him before curling in lips in what looked like an attempt at chuckling: «Connor told me I could be off to a good start if I offered you a coffee».

«Yeah, yeah. You might want to listen to him».

«Will this improve our partnership?»

«You keep your distance and respect the no-touching policy and we’re chill»

«Duly noted».

* * *

«I still can’t believe they assigned someone like me to this damn case. I’m the least qualified person to be teamed up with an android to investigate the kidnapping of another android».

Gavin slammed the car door and the chassis shook with the force of the impact. If there was something that RK900 was going to reply, the words soon died in his mouth the moment he saw the detective storm off the sidewalk, long and fast steps down the road as he left the car once again parked in a no-parking zone.

«I notice a pattern of recidivist behavior, Detective».

RK900 quickly reached him, maintaining the imposed distancing as he adjusted the lapels of his jacket at neck height.

When he felt the detective’s reprimanding look on him, he couldn’t help but curl his lips in a hint of a smile, no matter how little his stiff facial mimicry allowed him to.

«I swear that if it wouldn’t cost me a suspension from work, I would slam you in the trunk of my car and throw you straight down into the river».

«Doing so would break the rule of no-touching, Detective».

Gavin gave him a frustrated smirk: «Uh, you really got your priorities in order. At least you’re good at what you’re doing. Nice to know someone listens to me for once».

Campus Martius Park was not too far from where he left the car parked, but even for the end of April, the place was rather desolate. From the square, the apartment of the victim was easily identifiable.

«Elise Tadson lives on the seventh floor of that building. The most logical choice would be visiting the apartment and interrogating her fiancé, Jeremiah Wilson».

They exchanged a quick look as silence stretched between them.

«Did I say something wrong?», hesitantly asked the android.

Gavin shrugged his shoulders: «No. But I expected you to scan the entire area. You know, searching for clues 'n stuff before proceeding to the investigation. Same old, same old».

RK900 kept his eyes half-lidded, amber LED furiously circling.

Gavin faked disinterest as he followed out of the corner of his eye the way the android’s pupils were scanning the surrounding area.

«Hey, how about you snap out of your bluescreen for a moment, you two-legged Facebook?».

However, his tone did not seem to awaken the android.

When RK900 re-opened his eyes, he just proceeded on displaying on his palm in a hologram the results of his search.

«I’m sorry for cutting you loose for a moment. I was scanning the area for clues».

«Oh, yeah. Call it whatever you want it, boy. But when I do that in the office, we all agree on calling it napping».

The android gave him an eyeful and Gavin could have sworn he gave a little sigh. He didn’t look angry or tired, just... patiently waiting for him, especially now that he was prompting him to look at his projection on the palm.

«If you could please take a look at this, detective», he nudged him, keeping the distance as he showed him the hologram projected from his left wrist, «There’s a total of twenty-two surveillance cameras in the park. They’re all functioning, 24/7 and their footage automatically deletes every 24 hours if someone doesn’t intervene to save its content. The tapes are uploaded temporarily on the Police Department’s Cloud. But–».

Gavin squinted his eyes, getting closer to the hologram now that the android zoomed on the content for him.

«As you can see, of the twenty-two active cameras, six were turned offline on the night of the abduction and they remained so from 19:30 to 19:45».

«That’s quite a small window of time»

«Yes. Knowing which cameras were turned off can help us narrow down the area of the abduction. The victim was quite close to the bistro where her fiancé had stopped, but at the same time it took fifteen minutes for the abduction to take place in a crowded place».

Gavin half-closed his eyes and he scratched his beard in a nervous habitual tic. So absorbed in his thoughts, he didn’t even notice the curious stare of the android, the methodical way in which those icy irises scrutinized his hands curling the five o’clock, his olive complexion, his short and bitten nails mostly out of anxiety, the residues of feline sebaceous secretions on his cuticles, the nervousness he was detecting on his fingertips and their slight trembling probably due to an exaggerated intake of caffeine early in the morning.

«Tin can?».

RK900’s LED spun yellow for a moment.

He... was staring?

«Sorry. I was processing our possibilities».

It wasn’t a lie per se. He was really processing something. But he had no explanation for his fascination with those hands. Even Lieutenant Andersons’ hands were callous and rough at sight, certainly bigger than the detective’s, with embossed veins and the right wrist, the vivid mark black as ink and vivid as the trace of a china brush.

Detective Reed’s skin wasn’t as clear as Lieutenant Anderson’s and was devoid of white and gray hairs. The olive complexion was complemented by hazelnut long hairs and he could spot moles among them. It was...

Fascinat͔̅i̛͇̦̒n̨̹͔̳̟̐̍́̕͡g̹̥̫̺͐̈͜͠͡͞.

He sure wasn’t expecting the sudden thump in his thirium pump.

Gavin tilted his head a little.

«Okay, so we have a disappearance in a very small window of time, in a crowded place and in a crowd nonetheless. Who abducted her, probably made sure they wouldn’t be resisting».

«Maybe the victim knew their abductor?».

«Oh, and here I was scared they didn’t give you good protocols. Don’t get too full of yourself with the suggestions, bolts».

«But you’re implying this is the most logical conclusion too», he remarked, raising his brows. Gavin’s green irises were focused on him and he could slowly feel his internal temperature rising, an impalpable pressure on himself despite without reason.

Connor gave him lots of directions and suggestions on how to deal with Detective Reed, but none of them were applicable in that particular situation.

«Don’t use logic on me. I ain’t taking any of that mumbo-jumbo. I know how you androids get. You hide your snarky remarks behind logic and beep beep bo beep arguments, acting all nice to my face only to backstab me the moment I turn my back. I’m not giving up my job for a piece of plastic that came straight out of the factory equipped with the knowledge I had to sweat years to get. I have experience. What do you have to offer this case besides being a walking Scientific Lab and a knowledge that comes straight outside the FBI library?».

RK900 tilted his head, frown now clearly showing on his forehead. Gavin must have realized the change of pace was way sudden as his LED, finally blue after a long time, spun red and yellow as if he was trying to elaborate what caused the impromptu of that snarky remark.

By the time they reached the lobby of the building where Jeremiah Wilson lived, there was nothing but an unbearable silence stretching between them. Silence was something the android was used to, but he didn’t feel perfectly comfortable with it when it came to someone like Detective Reed, rumored to be the loudest person of the bullpen and probably the most impossible to silence by any means, be it violence or threatening disciplinary actions.

«I wonder, detective. Have you been informed on why you were assigned this mission?»

Gavin shrugged his shoulders, now locking eyes with the android:

«Some may say it’s because I’m a failure and it would probably be funny to let an android-hater investigate an android related crime»

«I’m surprised an intelligent person like you could be so short-sighted», directing his gaze to the right barren wrist of the detective, he let his stare linger on the hateful jade eyes full of spite he was now getting from the detective, «You were assigned this case because, unlike Connor and Lieutenant Anderson, you’re markless. This makes you and me the perfect candidates to investigate this».

«Phck you. And your motherboard. I hope that bastard who gave you social protocols rots into a fire, cause you’re the most irritant android I’ve ever been around. You make me wish arson wasn’t a crime»

«I’d be more worried about homicide. Though the possibilities of you managing to kill me are really low. I’m a military model, after all. I wasn’t programmed with the purpose of operating in the field, among other humans. So I have no social protocols per sé, besides the basic ones»

«Really nice way to say you’re nothing more than a soulless killing machine. And they assigned you to a soulmate case»

«Bold talk for someone markless»

Gavin gave him a deep scowl and there was no denying these words surely cut deeper than he predicted.

«Detective Reed, I’m sorry if–»

«Shut up!»

Gavin shushed the android before he could add anything else, giving him his cold shoulders as he repeatedly and nervously hit the call button of the elevator. Arms defensively crossed, he impatiently huffed with every passing second of waiting, held breaths now switching to nervous and shaky inhales and exhales.

RK900 registered the detective’s irregular breathing pattern, the anxious and panicking way his pupils shifted and jumped from one side to the other of the building’s hall, examining the linoleum floor, the slit between the elevator’s doors still closed and the echo of its descent in the elevator shaft.

There was something about detective Reed definitely... mesmerizing.

His profile was pronounced and the scar that crossed his nose was nothing but attractive. A second scanning revealed there were obstructed pores on his skin, dark circles that tainted his olive complexion and several whiteheads hid by his beard’s hair.

«Mommy motherboard never taught you that staring is rude?».

His LED shone amber as he registered the detective’s words.

He was... staring?

«I’m sorry», he admitted, guilty as charged, conscious of not having excuses for his behavior, «I overstepped a boundary once more, didn’t I?».

«They really cut all the expenses with you. What part of you even is advanced?».

RK900 moved his gaze elsewhere. He had no intention of answering a question that did nothing if not proving his inadequacy to human interaction and integration into society.

“ _Tch, barely human_ ”, he could regardlessly hear Gavin muttering under his breath.

When the elevator doors opened, he waited for the detective to head inside.

«Keep yourself 6 feet apart from me. No touching, no breathing my same air», he was reprimanded once more.

He silently complied, arms once more crossed, jacket stiff on his frame, posture rigid as he did his best to avoid any contact and correct him that he breathed only to regulate the internal temperature. Gavin kept on fumbling with his car keys in his pockets for the entire time. The tilting noise was beginning to bug RK900’s audio processors, but considering the mood of the detective, it was better to ignore the sensation and just focus on the investigation.

The sooner they gathered intellect and info, the better.

When they arrived at their floor, RK900 waited for the detective to exit and successively lead on the way.

He could see with the corner of his eye the wary moves of Gavin, soft steps along the building’s corridor, now and then scanning the ceiling and white plastered walls. His eyes seemed to sift through every door they left behind them, memorizing every plate of the apartments, searching for clues, studying and cataloging.

He was strangely silent and quieter, although one hand was already resting on the holster by his side, caressing the gun handle, ready at any given moment to remove the safety and point it against an assailant.

Despite the 6 feet separating them, there was a certain tension lingering in the air and when they stopped in front of the door of Jeremiah and Elise’s apartment, RK900 could clearly hear Gavin gulping. His palms were sweaty and his temperature dropped.

Despite his looks, Gavin was anxious.

And mad, considering the scowl he had just given him.

«Okay. I’m not gonna beat around the bush. I ask the questions. You scan for evidence and do the dumb shit Connor does whenever he’s on a crime scene. Lickin’ around. Touching stuff and contaminating evidence. I dunno. Just, stay outta my way».

RK900 took a moment to ponder his orders, letting his words sink in.

No point in counter-arguing.

Better to just indulge the detective and act differently only when required to. Connor and Lieutenant Anderson admired Gavin’s work despite his personality, so there had to be something good in him, especially about his modus operandi on the job, if he managed to get praise even from the toughest members of the force.

«Affirmative».

Gavin shook his head.

«Affirmative», he mocked him with a monotone voice, “ _I’m putting a bullet through your head if you piss me off one more time_ ”.

«Repairs are pretty expensive. I strongly advise you against doing that, detective Reed. You don’t want to end bankrupt»

«You’re gonna be an expensive toy for the one that’s gonna phck your brains out one day, then», he harshly commented.

RK900 tilted his head, nose scrunched: «Well, I hardly imagine it happening».

«What? Not interested in getting laid like your predecessors?», he teased as he knocked on the door of the apartment twice.

The android shyly avoided his glaze this time, the door frame wooden knots suddenly more interesting than the detective’s eyes.

«I’m a military model, detective Reed», he barely held himself back from stuttering, voice calm and collected, «And as a military model, I wasn’t projected for integration into society. They didn’t cut the expenses with me. They just deemed it unnecessary to equip me with social protocols because all I needed to do was kill, operate in adverse conditions such as the low Arctic temperatures, and have as much stamina as possible. My chassis is made of kevlar and carbonium, I’m built to consume the lesser thirium possible and yet operate at peak functionality. No one, when I was projected and my software was nothing else than a work in progress, a string of numbers _if you will concede me_ , a matrix in a computer, manipulated by engineers, ever thought of that program as something that needed affection or... get laid, as you’d put it».

Silence stretched among them as there came no answer from the door.

Gavin gave the android a puzzled look.

Was it concern? Mockery?

Honestly, RK900 wasn’t perfectly sure of either.

He knocked again.

«Mr. Wilson? Detective Reed from Detroit Police Department. Open up».

He eyed RK900 as there was no response.

«You know», he shrugged his shoulders, «You could have just said “ _I don’t do sex_ ”. No need for the whole emotional backstory».

«What part of it is emotional? I have no backstory. Just...».

Gavin studied him.

RK900 was averting his gaze once again.

Peculiar. So long, the android always fixated and studied him.

Was he... ashamed? Feeling sorrow? Well, if Connor could, there was no reason someone else couldn’t. Yet–

He knocked again on the door.

«‘s not answering».

«Very deductive skills, Detective Reed. I see they taught you well at the Academy»

«You’re so considerate, RK-ass-hundred»

«It’s not my designation»

«It’s not a name either and you pissed me off so you deserve to be mocked. That’s the law of retaliation, baby»

«Your empathy towards other living beings is astounding detective»

«Living being? You? Please», Gavin snorted, «Listen. I may be buds with Connor, but I’m not smooching every android around. I hate humanity and android-ity or whatever y’all want to call it. I tolerate you but please, don’t go off saying that you’re a living being cause, hell, you run on watery colored fluid».

«That’s surprising coming from a species that runs on colored water too».

Gavin jolted: «You literally have a battery that makes your brain function».

«Your brain and your entire body run on chemical and electrical impulses. How is that any different»

«Listen, don’t come here and teach me Anatomy 101!»

«Then stop ignoring my rights as a sentient species and just let me collaborate since this is our investigation and not only yours!».

Gavin gritted his teeth.

The androids LED was shining yellow though it flickered for a second red. Experience taught him well to never bring an android to the verge of red LED. He still remembered what was about to happen during the questioning of Carlos Ortiz android.

«What’s your take. The guy doesn’t even answer. Either he’s not home or he’s not as innocent as we could have thought».

RK900 closed his eyes, silently computing all the variables.

«Oh great, shutting down on me. And he said he doesn’t run on batteries».

«I’m viewing the CC. I can multitask, if you forgot about it»

«Oh, sorry for hurting your pride–»

«You’re the one to speak?».

Gavin was about to answer when RK900 gave him a puzzled look.

«He didn’t leave the house».

That seemed to do the trick and convince the detective to leave his bartering aside for a moment.

«Yet he doesn’t answer the door. Welp», he carefully stepped back, stretching his shoulder until his articulations and bones cracked, «Guess we gotta do it the old fashioned way».

«You didn’t even consider the possibility that someone could be waiting for you with a gun, ready to open fire on you on the other side?»

«Nah, tin can. You would have told me. You have infrared vision after all».

RK900 tilted his head.

«Why. Yes. I would have. But it’s still surprising to think that you just–».

“Trusted me?”, he was about to say. But why would a human that despised so much androids decide to trust into his judgment? It was counterintuitive.

No, it didn’t even make sense to his calculations. Gavin didn’t even seem to realize how weird and conflicting with his own logic this was.

Hating machines. Distrusting them to the point of driving a non-automatic car.

And yet– Trusting his judgment?

«I-»

_^^ Software Instability ^^_

He tilted his head as the notification popped up on the right of his HUD.

How... peculiar. He was a deviant. Of course his software was unstable. He thought he had killed the process that made the notification pop up. Maybe he should have made a deeper scan instead of staying awake consulting cases.

«The... room appears clear. But I strongly advise you against entering first. Your life isn’t expendable and you aren’t even wearing your bulletproof vest».

«Someone x-ray’d me? Did you even peek at my underwear?», Gavin sarcastically added, removing the gun’s safety.

RK900 ignored his tone.

«I–», black brief boxers, elastic fiber, 70% cotton, black with traces of white and black fur, probably due to a cat or more cats sleeping on the top of the cleaned laundry basket, «That would be a breach of privacy. Looking out for your safety is of utmost importance. And if you’re not wearing the vest, it’s my duty to go in first».

Better not tell him the truth.

The detective’s mood was unstable and highly irritable.

Not the right moment.

Gavin seemed to ponder his options.

«Fine», he defeatedly admitted, «You go on. I could use a shield». He snickered when he saw the android actually rolling his eyes. «You know. I’m actually surprised you didn’t even whine about the fact that we don’t have a search warrant», he trailed his eyes along the taller frame of the android, as he followed the way he was inspecting the pommel of the still closed door, «I thought, I dunno, you’d be anal about it».

«This isn’t a regular investigation. Connor and Lieutenant Anderson are probably onto something and there’s no time to lose. The person never left the apartment so the only logical explanation is that either they’re dead or they’re hiding something».

«I dunno man, they could be asleep. Humans need that, but hey, whaddya know».

Gavin jolted as the doorknob made a crushing sound, popping out of the wood in half a second, snatched from the frame, revealing cracked wood. The metal inside the android’s hand was now crushed and tightly held by RK900.

«I’m not waiting for another person to be abducted or killed because someone complained about a warrant».

His gaze dropped onto Gavin.

His pupils were slightly dilated and his eyes were fixated onto the door handle on his hand. His breath quicked for a second, blood rushing to the cheeks.

_^^ Software Instability ^^_

He should really have checked his system.

There was no way he was getting the right information. Too many controversial cues. He had been in contact with few humans, spoken to even less than two maybe, but this never happened. Controversial signals, words spoken and hormones communicating a completely opposed message.

«W-Where’s your gun, tin can?», Gavin tried his best to conceal the sudden stuttering and readied his Glock as he trailed behind the android, now carefully opening the door to the apartment.

As silence stretched between them, Gavin just scrunched his nose.

«You... have a weapon, right? They did give you one».

«Why the sudden concern? Cause you’ll be left without a bullet shield?»

«Leave the sarcasm to me, tin can. You don’t want to be disassembled so early».

«Your concern is touching, detective»

«Make it last cause it’s the only touching you’ll ever get from me»

RK900 scoffed.

«What?»

«Do you even listen to yourself?»

«Every time, considering no one else does»

«I hope you realize then that I’m always listening»

«Sure you do», Gavin crossed his arms as they both entered the room, «You need blackmail material, after all».

RK900 rolled his eyes. There was a faint smirk over the detective’s face but he wasn’t sure on the correct interpretation of that reaction. Was it teasing? Was it a delusion? With detective Reed, there was no way of telling it based on so little clues and a social protocol program working even less.

He just decided to focus on the job at hand.

The kitchen counters were spotless yet the scent of coffee still lingered in the air. He was surprised the detective didn’t apparently notice despite he had been described by Connor as a coffee addict.

> > _Mr. Wilson **didn’t leave the apartment** since the return from the abduction event._
> 
> > _Someone ( **Wilson**?) recently had breakfast and cleaned the plates_.

Gavin was carefully studying the living room, looking for clues under the sofa and reading off random magazines left on the coffee table. He was surprised the detective had that much time to waste. There wasn’t much to do in the inspection of the kitchen; the few fingerprints on the recently washed coffee mug clearly revealed that Wilson was there at least 30 minutes ago.

Did he escape from the fire exit? The window was pretty close to it. He could have easily escaped while they were bickering in the hall or in front of his door.

But why escape?

«Yeah, this dude kind of stinks».

RK900 eyed the detective as he approached him in the kitchen, a digital copy of the last number of “Times” that, once opened, only revealed a still opened session to a page of the deep web.

«What? You really thought I was off reading shit during an investigation?», Gavin looked at him in dismay as he waved the magazine, «Nevermind. I don’t care. The guy’s off to no good. Want my hot take? He sold her out».

«But why didn’t he leave after the reporting? Why escape now? Isn’t it… peculiar?»

«Mh, mh. Peculiar my ass», nodded Gavin, «Think you can sync and download all the research this dude did on the subject?».

RK900 nodded.

«It should take a while to download everything but–»

«Nice. Do it as fast as you can cause I feel like we have some catchin’ up to do with this asshole and I want to be done before the caffeine effects run out in my body».

«You could just follow a healthier lifestyle»

«What did I say about criticizing my choices?».

RK900 retracted his skin from the hand, carefully interfacing with the magazine.

«Don’t wander off without me, detective».

He could hear the sound of reproving coming from the living room. Gavin was probably mouthing and mocking him as he was speaking. The perks of team-work. He took an unnecessary sigh as the information flooded his systems. As he stepped into the living room, he could clearly see the detective impatiently waiting for him.

«Move your ass tin can. This house ain’t gonna investigate itself»

«You’re the bossy type»

«Yeah, well stop the presses. I’ve already been told I’m quite the power-bottom».

RK900 gave him a puzzled look.

Gavin seemed receptive enough to understand: «Well, phck me. Sex jokes really are wasted on you».

«Oh, I’m sorry, were you expecting an answer?», RK900 punctuated, leading the way to the corridor, «“ _If fucking you could shut you up I’d gladly do so_ ”? I’m sorry, I’m not interested in engaging in shameful debates about your intimacy. I don’t know why someone would ever do that».

«Guess I gotta raise my standards then».

RK900 stilled in front of the door.

His scanner didn’t pick heat signatures. He gently pushed it, the wood opening in a squeaking sound.

«Clear?», he asked the android.

RK900 gave a nod.

His scanners didn’t pick any heartbeats or noise coming from breathing. He had an unsettling feeling about that, but he figures informing detective Reed would be detrimental at that point and result only in more scowling on his side. He did better to keep his opinions to himself.

Gavin immediately went to investigate the drawers, opening and dissecting all their contents.

«Socks, briefs, phck! Can’t find anything useful. What the hell does even a pair of scissors do here, mixed in this stuff. Phck».

He threw the thing on the bed, proceeding on inspecting the rest of the room.

RK900 carefully picked up the scissors, a puzzled expression as he examined them. The handle had the fingerprints of Miss Tadson all over the prace and the steel, despite being clean at the appearance, was clearly drenched in drops of thirium 310, all pointing to the model number of the kidnapped android.

Gavin seemed to notice the immediate silence of him.

«You’re onto something?», he got closer to the android but as he remembered the no-touch rule, he impatiently waited for him to be done, «Earth to tin can! You there? Pass me the scissors. What’s even so special about them».

He had to run all the possibilities.

The scissors bore signs of blue blood. Was the victim killed and his body hid? No, there would be no reason to denounce her disappearance as a kidnapping. Also, if a struggle took place, there would have been signs of blue blood all over the place. On the blankets. On the floor. There was nothing of the sort in the entire room. Everything was clean save the scissors.

Did they come from another place? Did a murder take place?

«Hey, RK-900, give me the evidence, come on! You’re pissing me off with the silent treatment».

What did happen? A quick scan told him the blood was less than one day old.

The afternoon before. But the closed-circuit cameras clearly showed the victim being in the plaza, happily with their partner.

«900».

No, he had to run a preconstruction.

The hall closed-circuit showed that the couple left the building only at night, when they went out. Everything had to happen there. The victim and their partner were intimate.

The victim wasn’t injured. There was only one place where things could be cut without dispersion of blood. Internally.

> **[The victim trusted her partner].**

Probably trusted enough to allow him to make maintenance on them. Enough for someone to know how to open a backport and rummage between the wires. Yet, it would take someone with hacking capabilities to disable the pain receptors and cut out a tube like one carrying thirium. Where did that thirium go?

«Nine-hundred-ah phck, don’t tell me you entered in that mind palace cause if you’re lagging on me, we’re creamed!».

> **[Reset preconstruction]**.

It didn’t work out. That blood had to go somewhere. For people involved in the drug fabrication process, it had to be preserved.

«God what a waste of a day. I knew I shouldn’t have postponed my blood donation appointment. Phck my life. That’s just karma repaying me for being lazy about altruism».

“...Blood. Donation”.

> **[The victim didn’t struggle].**

> **[The victim was giving their blood consensually?].**

This would have made sense.

But why the scissors? Were they used to dig deep into the body to search for a particular trigger? Messing with the system? Cutting wires? If the aim was keeping the victim alive and draining their blood, what was even the point of the kidnapping? Did the murdered want to give them a lead? Did they–

«Okay, you know what? Phck this. You can ignore me all you want RK-phcking-NineHundred, I’m not gonna play your game. Give me the scissors, now!».

The android snapped from his mind palace.

He totally forgot that he had filtered the detective’s voice to focus on his thoughts.

«W...what?», dazed, he almost failed to understand what the man had been rumbling and why his name was suddenly a mockery of his designation.

«Oh, I’m sorry, did I wake you up? Did you enjoy your one hour in the ballpit?!»

«Detective Reed, what are you even talking about–»

«I saw your thingie spinning! I know this evidence is a golden nugget and I want in. What the hell is it about?! Give me that thing!»

«I will not since you asked me to maintain my distance from you and not touch you even with a hair»

«Very mature, using my logic against me».

The android scowled at him: «My– Are you even listening to yourself, detective?».

«Oh yeah and I make perfect sense!».

«You defy logic»

«Your name defies logic!»

«That doesn’t even make any sense!»

«Oh, does it?», Gavin snatched the scissors from the android’s hand but as he brushed his fingertips, he felt a rush of electricity stinging his fingers, pain running along his skin, electrical current scratching his nails, his skin and fastly reaching his entire body, bones awfully stinging and an aching sensation that was now suffocating and strangling his body in a fierce grip.

Gavin immediately dropped the scissors, too distracted by his own pain to pay attention to the reaction of the android.

«Y-You! Mother-», he grasped for air, desperately curling into himself, resisting the immediate pain on the wrist, «You motherphcker!», he screamed at the top of his lungs, kicking back the tears that were beginning to form on the corner of his eyes, pain stinging on his skin like needles, «You phcking electrocuted me! You phcking RK– phcking android! Phcking Nines! You traitor– Protect me my ass!».

The android looked at him dumbfoundedly, mouth agape as the scissors laid on the floor. He could barely see the detective over the Software Instability pop-ups that suddenly flooded his vision, his HUE suddenly red from the warnings and his biocomponents giving feedback of pain despite there was no actual reason to feel so.

He checked his hands and his body.

He wasn’t hurt, was he? His legs were still functional, his thiriums level stable and his audio receptors were probably troubled by the screaming of the detective but there was no indicator that the pain he was feeling now was due to physical conditions.

«I–», he struggled, voice wouldn’t leave his mouth and as he tried to get up, he felt a stinging pang in his right wrist.

It hurt.

The brushing of the cotton fabric of his shirt against the skin, the air against it.

Everything was raging hot.

The detective was fueled with rage as he eyed him and the slap on his hand only made the pain harsher.

«You in there?! You tased me! Oh when we get back at the department you’re so fired, you son of a bitching machine! You’re so–».

«Detective Reed, I didn’t–».

He didn’t electrocute him. He wasn’t capable of that. But if it wasn’t that then what–

A crashing sound came from the living room.

Gavin was the first on his feet: «The suspect! That bastard! He’s escaping!».

RK900 was quickly after him but there was no way of keeping Gavin out of harm.

The man quickly ran on his feet, skipped the sofa in the living room and made a beeline for the window, for the fire escape. Gavin looked down the stairs to get an eyeful of the now runaway suspect.

Wilson had already gained a vantage of four floors.

Gavin jumped the window and precipitated down the stairs, skipping the rungs three by three, ignoring the aching muscles with each taken step, stacking in the back of his mind the recurring pain of his feet, his wrist itching and hurting, burning and stinging like hundreds of needles penetrating his skin and marking him with fire.

He held onto the handrail, descending the stairs and jumping off five rungs, the steel floor now trembling under his weight, mind set on chasing and apprehending his suspect, his only lead to solve the case that could have finally lifted him from the swamp of his career and help him finally make it to Sergeant.

Oh God, please just grant him this wish.

He really wanted a promotion.

He ran faster, spiraling down the stairs, following the trails of the man.

One floor of stairs.

He was getting closer. Shame on those who mocked him for being short.

«Detroit Police!», he screamed trudging and limping, shins hurting, feet heavy as concrete, knees weak and lungs burning. That was phcking ridiculous, he spent hours at the gym, he shouldn’t be feeling this wimpy.

He gruffed, catching his breath as he saw the man jumping off the first floor.

«Welp. Should… should have seen that one coming, huff»

Heavily gulping, he made one last effort.

«Detective Reed, don’t–».

He could hear the android screaming after him but, yeah, he was 37 and if he had to apprehend a suspect, better dying or breaking a bone by trying instead of failing and giving up.

He took one last jump, running after the suspect with his remaining breath and he stopped ignoring the pain that still embraced his body.

His suspect was running away, too fast for him, too fast for his weak human body.

«Ah, shit– Can’t.. huff.. can’t give up!», he tried to speed up but as he felt his legs giving in, he saw a shade surpassing him so fast it felt like a truck passing by, and the suspect, firstly so far away, now didn’t look so distant as his legs took him there, barely sustaining the heaviness of his body, heavy as if they were dragging a cadaver.

As expected, the phcker was already reciting the suspect the Miranda rights with such precision that someone would have done wrong not believing it came right off the Wikipedia page.

The suspect was already in shackles and it was indeed the Wilson from the dossier that was engaged to the victim.

«You really are a job stealer», he caustically sputtered.

RK900 frowned his forehead.

«Y-You’re injured», his voice crackled in static as he spoke, his scanner slowly assessing the situation, «Limping. And bleeding from your hands. I’m sorry».

«For what, phcker?! For tasering me?! For stealing my suspect?! For keeping all the info on the evidence for yourself?! Oh please, tell me, holy toaster!». He opened his arms and tended them to the sky as he balled on his toes, legs tingling from the pain and hurting with lactic acid.

The android silently assessed his options. Instead of answering him, he just lifted a gun.

«Oh great. You’re gonna shoot me. Such a suitable way for this day to end».

«I’m not shooting you. Detective, he was armed. And his gun wasn’t even secured. He could have shot you if you got any closer. He could have killed you».

Gavin scrunched his nose.

«You didn’t have a bulletproof vest on. It was... I had to protect you before he could–».

Gavin grit his teeth. He kneeled down to the suspect and gave a good stare at his face: «You having fun there buddy? Hang in there. The questioning is gonna be even funnier with his doppelganger and Dream Daddy Lieutenant»


	2. // PARTITION 2 //

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!  
> I decided to split the first chapter into two different parts for easier reading! The third chapter will be up in the next few minutes, so stay tuned for the upcoming update featuring a lovely piece of art from aurea-b! I'm once again prompting you all to check out her amazing works on Tumblr! [Aurea-b's amazing art!](https://aurea-b-art.tumblr.com/)

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 2 \\\

The ride to the department was silent.

Gavin kept his eyes on the road, grunting as the lingering pain sensation slowly faded away, ignoring as much as he could the brushing sensation of burn on his wrist. If he kept telling himself it was just a sprain, just a bruise, just _anything else_ than what logic dictated, he would have been fine.

If only he could filter out Nines’ obnoxious, Connor-like voice. Oh, to be an android in those trying times.

«Detective, I–»

«Shut up».

Every time the RK900 tried to speak up, he was only met with the reprimand of the detective. A snarky remark, a silencing sentence. Or just some irritated tapping on the steering wheel, a social cue that the android kept on ignoring for the sake of making up.

«Detective, I’m sincerely concerned for your safety. You shouldn’t be driving. Your leg is hurt. Your hands are still bruised and bleeding. You should have let me treat you with the emergency kit and drive».

«You’re so bold to assume this car is equipped with an emergency kit»

«Detective–»

«No is no, Nines»

The android tightly pressed his lips, tensing his jaw.

«Stop calling me Nines»

«RK900 is a long ass name, I hate it and I hate you. So get rekt. You get a shitty name cause life ain’t a walk in the park. Fowler is seriously gonna kick you in your plastic butt once he hears of this».

Nines rose an eyebrow, straining to hold back the teasing tone: «What? That I captured a fleeing now-suspect and that I prevented him from killing you with an unsecured gun?».

«You’re a smartass but Connor’s wit protocols won’t save you. You tased me».

Nines stared at his reflection on the windscreen. His LED was spinning yellow. And he was also pretty sure he was regretting deviating since he could feel a pit of frustration building up on his gut.

«For the last time, I didn’t tase you»

«Can’t hear you over the beeping sound of my lie detector»

«You don’t even have a lie detector!», Nines gave him a scowl as he clenched the fabric of his jeans around his fingers, «Why can’t you just make an effort to tolerate me? Give me at least a possibility of being a decent partner! I’m not trying to get in your way, I just want to help and be a good partner for you! I know that I can, but you need to give me a chance to!».

«Oh, so you think you deserve a chance? What makes you think so? You waltz your way in the department in the span of a night, ask to be teamed up with me for God knows what masochistic reason and, _surprise!_ , Fowler thinks it’s the perfect occasion to teach me a lesson! And what? I should give you a chance? Phck you man. Phck you and your juicy, shiny plastic ass».

A noisy throat-clearing sound suddenly came from the seats behind.

«H-Hey buddy, not to intrude here but could you avoid bickering in front of me? It’s kinda uncomfortable».

Gavin flipped him the finger, never distracting himself from driving: «If you think this is uncomfortable, you never walked into an unlocked bathroom to the SWAT Captain giving his PhD to his partner. You’ve seen nothing, you scum. If you really did send that girl to Android heaven with Dean’s car, I’ll make sure you’re getting sentenced to walk into a bathroom stall like that for every day of your detainment till you’re done serving your sentence».

“Connor. Do you have a minute?”.

Connor had just left the interrogatory room when Nines’ worried message popped up on his HUD. He would have answered him soon if the android didn’t walk up to him at a faster pace, silvery eyes elusive as they avoided meeting any of the presents’ faces.

He lived and interacted long enough with the android to know how rare it was for him to show any sign of preoccupation on his face, especially considering how private and protective he always acted about his emotions and how he was still rather new to all of them, to the point of having difficulties working out his feelings most of the times and barely interacting with anyone that he didn’t deem familiar enough.

But a quick look to the shining of his blue LED could tell any investigative android that his stress levels were rising and something was probably eating him as his eyes kept being averting and his sensors tuned way too high for the context requirements.

Nines run up to him as soon as he left the room, so fast that he didn’t even wait for the door to close. He had been assisting at the interrogation behind the mirror together with Lieutenant Anderson and Detective Reed, but a simple look was enough to tell something was on his mind, and it had little to do with the case.

Connor gave handled the manila folder of the case to the Lieutenant.

«I don’t know what made him talk so easily but our suspect was awfully preoccupied for his sentence. Detective Reed, why he insisted so much on not being exposed to people having sexual intercourse in a bathroom during his stay».

Gavin rolled his eyes: «Beats me. People have the weirdest ideas».

«And here I thought you accidentally disclosed information about Captain Allen rawing Sixty in the bathroom to a suspect. To someone that potentially murdered an innocent girl», Hank leaned against the wall, sipping from his mug of cappuccino, a treat that Connor allowed at the condition that he’d get soy milk in place of regular cow milk. And he’d put one teaspoon of sugar instead of two.

«You two are way too paranoid for my likes. Why don’t you worry about finding a place to collect the new information instead of whining about why the guy now knows the bathroom stall of our police station is the place where a renowned Captain has adult fun time with your twin brother, plastic prick?»

«You know that if Sixty finds this out is gonna kill you», Connor gave him a playful smirk, rolling his shirt sleeves up to his elbows and showing with a certain pride his soul mark, «I’m surprised you let me handle the interrogation. You’re really making progress».

«Stop acting so gross in front of your husband-to-be. He may get jealous of our bromance», Gavin scoffed as he took a sip of his own coffee, staring directly at the mirror, as the suspect kept sitting at his table with his hands shackled, looking back at him as he probably waited for the agents to apprehend him, «At least now we know that your blood is really juicer than markless androids. The guy was really a wimp, for spilling the beans after one hour and confessing he really used the scissors to cut off some wires, plug in a cable and use a phone application to reset her. Thought it would be more difficult».

«We should find a way to take a hold of this _Mauve Angel_ , then. And trace the site that hosts this application to have them take it down»

«It was in the _Deep W_ eb, Hank», Connor corrected the Lieutenant before he could add more, «My guess is that is being sent via Bluetooth to escape being tracked by the net. There’s surely a way to get in contact with one of these people and understand the process being the drug processing. But– it’ll require some risk-taking».

«No shit, Sherlock», rolling his eyes, Gavin trashed the now empty coffee cup and nudged his head towards the RK900, «Hey, I think plastic prink wanted to talk to you an eternity ago. I’m probably gonna go and ask my friend there two more questions about the _Charlie’s Angels_ ».

Hank scoffed as Nines corrected him: «It’s _Mauve Angel_ ».

«Don’t give him attention, RK900. It will only get worse», Connor reprimanded him with a comprehensive and sympathetic smile, shrugging his shoulders as he saw the detective head towards the interrogation room, «I’m taking a break to share our current information with RK900 and get some footage of the investigation he did. Don’t go too rough on him, detective Reed».

Gavin scrunched his nose, scratching his scar in a habitual tic: «Whatever you say, plastic prick. Just don’t have Nines miss for more than 10 minutes. I need his bolts ass here for when I’m done with the questioning. Wouldn’t want him to run away from a confrontation. He owes me more than 5k in physical damages».

The android tilted his head at the weird nickname but he advanced no further questions as his successor already headed out of the room, silently merging in the darkness of the corridor, grayish eyes glistening in the dark with his android marks.

Connor trailed behind him, soon catching up with his steps.

Gavin would have said “ _like a poodle_ ”, but he couldn’t help if his successor was so fast at walking and yet had the grace of a black swan at avoiding any social interaction, slick like oil.

«Nines?», he yet asked in a tentative tone, probing the waters before giving any kind of judgment, «You finally picked a name RK?».

Nines stopped in his tracks as he held open the door to the restroom for the predecessor to enter. «It’s... complicated», as he saw him enter, he rapidly closed the door behind him, just to make sure there was enough privacy for the both of them to talk. He screened the stalls with infrared vision just to detect any heat signature and be perfectly sure they weren’t being listened on. He could tell Connor was starting to worry for him.

«I’m sorry but, considering the person we’re talking about, I think some precautions are needed», excusing himself, he finally let go of the tension once he had the certainty they were alone in the restroom, «I think Gavin named me. Or something».

«Oh. Should I give you my condolences or throw a party?»

«Neither of them. I could really use some comfort right now, Connor».

Connor gave him an endearing smile, retracting his skin from the hand as he reached for his successor’s.

«Sorry for the response. It was really a surprise. But I hope he didn’t overstep any boundaries by calling you that way. If you don’t like the name, you can always tell him so. I’d gladly help you convince him to knock it off if it’s bothering you. A concussion–».

«I don’t dislike the name and I definitely don’t think detective Reed needs a concussion right now considering his already precarious health after today’s chase. He’s trying to hide his limping but there are bruises all over his hands. And–», Nines deeply inhaled, ignoring the concerned look on Connor’s face, the way his frown deepened over seeing him actually gasp for air.

As he leaned against the bathroom counter, he realized how hard the entire thing was hitting him now. He loudly sighed and wirelessly locked out the restroom door, meeting now the more than confused stare of his predecessor. He tensed, hands scratching the fake marble surface of the counter.

«...If I show you something, will you promise me you won’t laugh or denigrate me?».

«I–», Connor frowned as the implications of his words dawned on him. Nines was looking at him with fear in his now averting eyes, his LED was flickering red and in the silence of the restroom, it was almost possible to hear the increased beating of his thirium pump, fans whirring to cope with the stress of the situation. «Nines, why would I humiliate you. I was the one who rescued you. Why would I betray your trust in that way».

Nines tightly held his lips sewn.

He slowly unrolled the cuff of his black and white pristine coat and unbuttoned the shirt’s sleeve, revealing, over the pale mole-studded skin, a black line, a mark clean like the stroke of a china brush, with a double “V”.

Connor gasped, hardly holding back his astonishment at the sight of what was authentically a soulmark, its veracity even more proved as the android retracted the skin, showing that the mark was still there, embed on his plastic and polymers limb, like a burning reminder of his fate.

«Please say something, Connor. This is serious and I don’t know how to feel about this».

Connor snapped out of his silence, fingers carefully stretching to reach out to the mark and gently brush it. He could feel his successor flinch under the touch. He wondered if Gavin felt that too for a second.

«By rA9. It’s real. Nines I’m– How are you feeling? This must be a lot for you to deal with. You just met him and–».

«You seem happy with Lieutenant Anderson. And soulmates finding each other can be hard most of the time. If this is really fate, wouldn’t be irrational for me to waste such an opportunity? What should I do, Connor?». His hands clenched the counter and he could feel the faux marble creak under the pressure of his grip, «Detective Reed doesn’t seem so keen to give me a chance on the workplace. He kept insisting that I tased him. He’s... still probably in denial about it. What if he does something ridiculous? What if, upon knowing his soulmate is an android, he commits suicide? Or worse, he tries to kill me? What if he befriends me just to kill me and get a new soulmate or live his entire life off without them, just like he did until now. What if–».

He winced as he felt his barren hands being held by his predecessor’s, soft faux skin meeting his plastic fingers and now tracing circles on his knuckles, soothing motions to calm him down.

«Nines... Gavin may be the most irrational human being I’ve ever seen and say idiotic things all the time, but he ended up being my friend. And even if he doesn’t want to admit it, he deeply cares for the cases we’re working on. He investigated them secretly, without saying a word to anyone and even if he didn’t want to admit it, he was dying to work with us on this. He cares. And even if it may be bitter and hard at the beginning, it isn’t so different from how it was for me and Hank too. It’s okay if things don’t immediately work out. If it takes a while. But... soulmates are made for each other. Fate is never mistaken. Hank pointed a gun at me more than once and aggressed me on our first day of partnership, but things worked out fine in the end».

Nines gave him a scowl as he stared at their now interfacing hands: «This just sounds like a boomer marriage».

«I knew I should have forbidden Hank to use his Millennial humor on you».

The younger android cracked a smile, the most he could do with his limited expression capability and muscle limitations. His mouth corners curled a little as his cheeks turned in a teal hue, hands now nervous and shaking with Connor’s contact.

«I know right now it doesn’t make sense to you. I found out I was Hank’s soulmate way before I even understood I was a sentient entity and still acted as the deviant hunter. The ways of life are infinite. There are many roads ahead that you’ll have to walk, and you just started your journey. Things will sort out with time, just trust me and be patient. Soulmates are made for each other and so long, Gavin proved he’s capable of redeeming himself. He... just needs time to sort this out, cause he’s been living an entire life without anyone. And whilst I agree he could use some help on your side, I also think you should be patient and let things have their own course».

Nines held tight of Connor’s hands as his predecessor showed him the happy memories he made with Hank in the last months, the walks in the park with Sumo, on the soft snow of December and the biting cold of January, the moments of tenderness on the sofa, sharing timid and shy touches while watching a movie or a game, bits and pieces of daily life, Hank’s treasured smile and the way his style of life slowly improved, his beard and haircut stopped being messy, his clothes baggier and his body closer to how he looked in the picture he held in the board near his desk.

Every second of daily life of Connor was filled with happiness and tenderness, reciprocal care and love that expressed in light touches, gentle nudges or a new post it showing up in the bathroom about self-care, a game attended together, a trip in a free weekend to lake Michigan.

When their hands separated and the interface ended, Connor’s eyes were filled with affection.

«Please, Nines. Even if you’re confused right now, don’t fight it. Give Gavin some time to sort it out and be patient. There isn’t a single soul on this planet that would give up on such possibility of happiness. Fate is never wrong».

* * *

«Fate is never wrong».

Gavin violently slammed the door of his apartment, not caring for once to wake his cats, Princess and Arsehole, from their slumber. He barely acknowledged the mess he left the same morning, trying to ignore the fact that one of them puked on the carpet once again, sparing little to no time to worry about that.

His leather jacket quickly slid off his shoulders, falling onto the floor.

Anxiously sweating, he launched the door keys in the bowl by the cupboard, missing it by mere inches, and made a beeline for the bathroom, ignoring the fact that he forgot the door to it opened and his sink was now dusted with white, black and gray fur.

Cold water ran over his hands as he splashed it onto his weary face, the bags even more purple than when he left hours ago and his lips bitter and dry as drops of water dripped down his lower lip and his unkempt stubble.

Everything hurt.

His hands’ bruises stung with pain as he held tightly to the counter.

Shivers ran down his spine, vertebra by vertebra, as the entire day’s events dawned on him.

How longer could he keep pretending Nines tased him?

As he rolled back the sleeves of his hoodie, first the left and then the right one, he flinched in a grimace of pain, gritting his teeth and holding back a curse, pretending he didn’t see something was definitely there. His gaze instead fixated onto the dirty mirror, trembling hands as he tentatively reached for his reflection, in the dim and warm light of the bathroom.

«...you gotta be kidding me...»

He could no longer deny it.

Around his wrist, like a bolt from the blue, stood a firm line around his right wrist, burned on his olive complexion, black ink that circled his wrist and choked it like a tight collar, reddish skin around it as everything pulsated into an incessant pain and sense of itching.

He bit his lower lip, grinding his teeth as his rage progressively built in his gut, stomach hurting and burning in a fire as his greenish eyes failed to focus on the inner side of his forearm, the unmistakable double “ _V_ ” that marked him.

No matter how hard he tried to scream, the only sound that left his voice was a strained and pained grunt of denial, resentment and mixed feelings of hate and delusion as tears of rage started forming on the corners of his now humid eyes.

«You! Gotta! Be! Phcking! Kidding me!».

With his fists now clenched, there was little he could feel in that moment, if not the now crashing sound of the mirror’s glass under his knuckles, as his hands met his reflection’s. Hot and steamy blood now dripped down his phalanxes, mixing with the small shards and heavily dripping onto the sink and down his forearm, staining the perfect mark with drops of crimson.

He stared at his broken reflection through foggy eyes, tears running down in streams on his tired face, and he could now barely make out his features from the remained intact fragments of the mirror and the poor illumination of the bathroom.

Everything was a mess.

_He_ was a mess.

Maybe it was time he faced reality: he wasn’t worth of anything, not even a _human_ soulmate.

Life was really fucking with him to the point of giving him a fake soulmate, a plastic puppet imbued with a software that some people dared to call free will, an android that was literally built for a war that was never fought. A consolation prize for a man that would have never made it to Sergeant, nor to Lieutenant, no matter how hard he strived, no matter how many nights he spent at the precinct, cramming over the cases files, sacrificing hours of precious sleep to the point of becoming insomniac and developing gastroesophageal reflux for the sake of a promotion that would never come.

He held back a sob as the pain hit him all at once: the burning of the mark, the glass shards grazing his skin, the bruises from his fall in the morning, and the undeserved affection Princess and Arsehole graced him with now that they came to check on him, struggling to understand, maybe blaming him once again for his inadequacy even as a pet owner.

What was even becoming of him?, was this where he was headed?

He took a long sigh as he sat with his back to the bathtub, landing on the shards and not even giving a single care anymore, resting his hurt hands onto his knees, crouching and curling up in a ball, stifling his cries into his arms, shooing his cats away when he saw Princess almost getting close to the mess on the ground.

37 years and he was crying in his bathroom over a battleground of broken fragments of glass, just like he did as a teenager after a fight with his parents, after the umpteenth suspension from his school, after being laughed of for not having a soulmate already, after the rejection of every college he ever applied to for being an outcast, a criminal to-be, someone that Fate decided was unlovable and therefore a member society could do without.

His blood was still running and yet he could hardly tell if it was hurting.

He wondered if, despite it, the bastard could feel that stinging pain.

If Fate really thought he could give him the finger now that he was almost forty, and destine him to live the rest of his life with a human-lookalike; no matter how hot that plastic prick was, he’d show Fate who was really in control of his life. Even if it meant ending it.

“Let’s see how good he handles pain. I may as well give him a taste of what humanity feels like and maybe hope either me or him are gonna die trying”.

What was the point in living anymore, when he had such a curse upon himself? He had been everyone’s laughing stock for an entire lifetime for being markless. And when he finally made peace with himself, with the fact the he would have died alone, spending his retirement with his cats and the seldom visits of Tina, here came this motherphcker out of thin air, materializing in the form of a supposed soulmate, like a joke of April’s Fools Day with an actual 26 days of delay.

Just cause he cared about androids cases, it didn’t mean he was so keen on becoming bed buds with one of them like Hank.

Maybe there was something else beyond that mark. Maybe, that was just the push Destiny gave him to take the final step.

How long he’d been delaying that decision?

He made it through some shit. Maybe it was time to throw in the towel.

What was worth living for anymore?, when all he had to look forward for was living with a bag of bolts?

He raised on his feet, helping himself by climbing on the edge of the bathtub, painfully stretching his back as his soles trampled on the shards. He closed the bathroom door behind him just to make sure his cats wouldn’t step on the fragments of broken glass, and slowly dragged his feet to his messy bedroom, the unmade bed with the blankets all over the mattress, the pajamas laying on the back of an armchair onto a pile of not yet ironed clothes and the slippers scattered on the other side of the room.

Rummaging through the first drawer of his nightstand, he got handle of a bottle of tranquillizers.

What would have been of Tina?, what of his cats?

_No_ – there was no point of asking himself this.

His life couldn’t get better. Would have never gotten better. No matter how hard he tried. He’d been trying for ages now, and every attempt was useless.

And maybe... If he died now– who would have missed him?

Certainly not his parents, who he hadn’t been in contact with for years. And for sure not even his colleagues from the bullpen, agents and detectives who wished he was dead and manifested that he choked on an olive at every Christmas party the department attended as a whole.

He noticed Princess jumping on the bed, stepping onto the soft blankets and leaving a trail of sand from the litter box behind her, now scattering it onto the clean bed-sheets. He would have cared or scolded her in another moment, but he just didn’t have the strength to care right now, not as he felt her head now rubbing against his barren forearm.

«Hey. Don’t worry Princess. Tina will take good care of you when dad will be gone», Gavin scratched her ears with his cleaner hand and gave her a kiss on the soft head, his sad smile now creased as her fur wetted with his tears. Stroking her fur, he peppered her face with kisses, despite his lips were dry and swollen by all the biting.

«Be good and just look out for your brother, okay? You’ll be better off without me. No one will mind. I’ll yeet myself out of this existence, or die trying. Which, huh, I guess fulfills the purpose».

Princess offered him a concerned look as she caught a glimpse of her owner now heading for the kitchen, back slouching and a small bottle in his hurt hand, standing near the sink and pouring a glass of water for himself.

Gavin’s eyes idly followed the trail of the liquid as it filled the tumbler and he uncapped the bottle to slowly add the drops of anxiolytic. One by one, until going over his usual dose, to the point of losing count, until the bottle on his hands was empty, the tears dry on his face and his dominant hand shaking and pushing into the back of his mind the reality and the implications of what he was about to do.

He inhaled the sweetish scent of the water filled with medicinal and drew his lips to the glass just to moistened his lips with the tranquillizer.

«Welp. That’s a one-way ticket to sleepytime junction, Reed. Now stop being a pussy and just get it done».

He could feel his fingertips slowly turning cold and sweaty.

Maybe he should have written Tina something, either a message of goodbye or a reminder to check his testament before his parents knew of his death. Maybe he should have taken his death juice somewhere else than his house, considering his colleagues would have been investigating that place the day after his body discovery.

Maybe– _No_ , no one would have found out his soulmate was an android if he died now.

Nines’ mark would have disappeared the moment he died.

Someone else would have been chosen for him. And if by dying he brought the android with him or made him suffer enough, then–

Perhaps–

A loud knocking made him jolt with the glass in hand.

Some content spilled on the counter but he was fast enough to dry it with some scottex before his cats could think of jumping onto the counter and ingest it out of curiosity. He cursed under his breath as he tried to keep silent.

Maybe, if he pretended to be sleeping our just not at home, they’d leave him in peace. After all, it wasn’t like he was planning on anyone finding his body this soon.

With trembling hands, he finished cleaning the counter, teeth clattering as the glass full of medicine still stood there, half-full, a grim reminder of the fate he decided to bring upon himself. After all, there was really no escaping from the mark around his wrist if not death itself.

“ _Quit being a pussy_ ”, he muttered under his breath, hands holding the sink in a desperate attempt to keep a grip on his life, for the little there was left of it, “Be a man and end this phcking charade before you change your mind, you coward”.

He stared at the bottom of the tumbler, looking at his barely viewable reflection.

What was he actually giving up by doing this?

Every soulmate eventually found happiness with their significant other, that’s what every children book they read him at kindergarten, at grade school and high school basically taught him. That’s what his nana told him when she tucked him in, when his parents were too busy arguing over his custody, when she spoke of stories of soulmates finding each other with a touch, feeling each other’s emotions, through a bond that transcended time and space, that spoke directly to the soul, a mark that bounded two or more persons by the soul, one single heartbeat in the shape of a “ _double V_ ” etched onto your and your significant other’s skin, yours and his beating heart, synched on your wrist, a gentle reminder that they’ll be with you until the end of their life.

But what did his life become?

Life never spared any mercy for him.

No matter how hard he tried to see the light into the dark or at the end of the tunnel, there was no way on planet Earth he would have been happy with an android. There was no happy ending waiting for him at the end of the line.

It wasn’t even about deserving better.

He didn’t deserve anyone, period.

He lived almost four decades without anyone by his side. No one, could make him happy. No matter how much he pretended to blurry see in the water now mixed with his tears a future where he could be happy.

All he could see right now were the years of angst, pain and inadequacy he lived through, endlessly waiting and wishing he had what others had. Years of watching his parents’ friends getting married one after another, classmates going on dates and holding hands, going at prom together while he stood beside and watched the dances in his dad’s suit, with the P.E. teacher by his side drunk on punch.

Years of seeing classmates, acquaintances, relatives and cousins finding their significant other as he stood in the corner alone, him and his own shadow, like watching a movie all alone in a dark theater, every Christmas wrapping presents for his cats as the couples of his neighborhood exchanged gifts in the morning of Christmas, in a jubilation of happiness, hugs, kisses and affectionate smiles.

What could that cold android even give him?

In how many ways destiny could have mocked him before bringing him six feet under?

As he balled his fist, he felt once again the stinging pain of the bruises hitting him, faster and harsher, the ache so intense he almost didn’t hear the knocking at the door getting louder and louder with every passing second.

_What could he give another person_?

Maybe life never gifted him a partner cause _he_ was the inadequate one. Cause he wasn’t able to love, after all, no matter how hard he tried.

Maybe that was the ultimate punishment, the ultimate sign from life that he was not only unworthy of being loved, but also incapable of loving back. That all he deserved was to be paired with a machine designed to kill, as inadequate as himself, with no social protocols and sense of humor.

“Time to end it once and for all, Reed. At three”.

He gulped, closing his eyes and drawing the glass closer.

“ _One_...”.

The knocking got louder. Flinching, he barely held back a grunt, his frustration growing louder with every insistent knocking. If there was a voice calling for him, his brain decided to filter it out, considering it looked obnoxiously similar to Connor, and he had no time to spare for a plastic asshole now that he was closer to the eternal sleep.

“... _two_ ”

He sighed as he put the lips around the tumblers’ edge, his breath fogging the glass.

The knocking stopped.

“ _And three_ ”.

A loud crack came from the entrance, and before Gavin could open his mouth and gobble down the medicine, the glass slid off his hands and fell directly into the sink.

He jerked in his spot and directed his scared gaze to the entrance’s door, now busted open, one hinge broken and the entire wood hanging.

«What in the ever-loving turbohell phck are you doing here?!».

Hands still trembling, he barely struggled to make sense of what had literally happened in the span of mere seconds, shivers running all over his body over the realization that the android could have seen and scanned the contents of the glass spilled on his counter even by a mere gaze.

Shame washed over him when he also realized his wrists were exposed, dirtied with crusted and now dry blood streams, inevitable proof of his rage mixed with the untreated wounds of the same morning.

Nines was indeed standing in front of him, feet away from the kitchen counter, silent and wearing a pained expression, his LED flickering and spinning in hues of red and yellow.

Gavin snapped his fingers, despite their incessant trembling and sweating, walking up to him and masking his fear with sheer anger.

«Hey, I’m talking to you asshole!»

As he met his deafening silence, he promptly shoved him, _just for the sake of it_ , but he should have predicted the stinging pain on his palm. After all, there were probably some small shards mixed into the creaks of his wounds. No wonder Nines gave him that troubled look, though he was pretty sure the silence on his side must have had something to do with that.

The android stretched an arm out to him, but as he tried to reach for his hoodie, he reminded the harsh words of the detective from the morning, the admonition against touching him, even by mistake.

«Thank rA9, you’re still alive», Nines merely said, retracting his arm, now finally breaking the awkward and protracted silence.

Gavin looked at him dumbfounded, now fully realizing how many emotions the android showed despite his apparent constipation, gradations of feelings that were noticeable only now that it was the two of them, in a place that could be considered safe from people’s eyes. Or in a situation that screamed emergency from a mile away.

And despite he would have loved to call it a simulation, there was something in the RK900’s icy eyes, that could be barely classified as so. A bluish hue over his cheeks that he had only seen so long on Connor, a reaction that was apparently impossible to create voluntarily.

Nines’ voice was anything but steady in that moment, static taking over between his words.

«Detective Reed. I know that you don’t like me. But– please don’t kill yourself over me. I’m bḙ͝ǵ̹giṋ͖̎̚g̝̾ ̭͉̎͛ẙ͙̹͚̦͔̎̂̓̈́o̘͇͇̥̥͌̍̾́͡u̧̗̥̜͔̍͂̇̋̾», his lips creased into a broken pout, eyes lucid despite tears wouldn’t come out of them, «Please don’t throw your life away just because I happen to be your... significant other. Give me one chance. All I’m asking for, is one chance to prove you I can do it. I can be your partner. I can be your soulmate».

His grayish irises locked with Gavin’s, frown deepening as he struggled to keep eye contact for so long.

«I... I promise that if I fail I’ll leave your life forever. But please, don’t think of throwing your existence away so easily just because I’m–».

Gavin bared his teeth, losing the little was left of his patience and mental energy the moment he saw the android avert his gaze.

«Don’t phckin’ phck with me! Giving you a chance?», he raised his voice to the point of feeling his throat hurt, no use holding himself back anymore, not when he was about to end his life, not now that he knew the plastic was really his consolation prize assigned by life. He gave him another push despite the fact that the android barely flinched at that, not remotely shaken by his strength, «You really expect me to believe this soulmate bullshit?! No one will ever agree on having a relationship with me when they’ll find out I have a soulmark! There’s no laser treatment that can remove this shit! No amputation that will impede this thing to pop up onto the other arm, my legs or my ass! I’ll be looked down by anyone and no one will take me seriously considering I may run off and cheat on them the moment I decide to rethink my life and think that maybe, _and just maybe_ , I should give my soulmate a chance! Everyone in this world believes fate is never wrong! How do you even have the nerve, you damn plastic prick, to ask me to give you a chance? To pretend you can make it work when you never interacted with no one outside of Hank and Connor in the months you’ve been “ _alive_ ”?!».

Nines lowered his head but despite opening his mouth, no retort or answer came to his mind. Just pain. Sheer pain that hit him where he knew it hurt. He was inadequate. _Just_ an android designed for war. An investigator, perhaps. But unworthy of being loved.

Unlike RK800-51, Connor.

Unlike RK800-60, Sixty.

Unlike RK200, Markus.

Faster, stronger, more resilient, and equipped with new features and the latest technologies.

Slowest at catching social cues, psychologically weaker, with a Kevlar and carbonium made chassis way more resilient than his predecessors’ and equipped with features that could make him an unrivaled weapon on the Arctic field but nothing more than an impediment on the front of human integration.

Not a worthy soulmate. Not everyone’s first choice, unlike Connor.

Detective Reed was right.

«Short of answers, huh? Of course you are», Gavin shook his shoulders, ignoring the discomfort at the silence of the android and his unreadable expression, «You don’t know jack shit about me so stop pretending you care. What do you think you know about my life, to say you can be my soulmate? You know my career information and maybe my medical records, cause I can bet my nuts that you probably breached my privacy by reading them. You all do».

Nines flinched at his words.

A more than sincere confirmation for the detective that for once knew he wasn’t that far off the truth. He couldn’t hold back a bitter and harsh laugh, smacking his hand on hip lap as his wound on the palm reopened. If the pained expression on the android’s hand was anything to go by, that must have hurt him as well.

«You did it. You phcking read everything about me. Did all your homework and didn’t even ask me for consent. And now you come here, spout soulmate bullshit and ask me to trust you, give you a chance and then decide if you deserve or not to get the fuck out of my life, when no one ever sent you the invitation link for it».

He gave him his shoulders, shaking his head.

«What do you even know about my struggles. I lived 37 years without a soulmate. And now you– you tear down my door, think you’re my perfect partner and expect me to throw a phcking party for you and lay down a red carpet to welcome you to my private life. This will never work. You and I both know that, no matter how many people say “ _Fate is never wrong_ ”. People told themselves the same lies just cause they want them to come true. But after all, it’s still a lie. There’s no happily ever after for everyone in this world. Some people just take the shit».

«What if I want it to work though? If I want us to be the ones happy?»

«Don’t talk of it like an “ _us_ ” thing. No one cares about what you want, Nines. Knock it off. No one–»

«I want to be there for you»

«You don’t even know the meaning of the words you’re saying! You literally met me this morning for the first time!».

«Don’t all soulmates do?»

«Don’t use logic on me, it ain’t working», Gavin deeply sighed, and when he caught sight of his cats rubbing against Nines’ ankles, he just shook his head and headed for the kitchen, making sure to clean the evidence of his shameful attempt, knowing damn well that he wouldn’t be getting any killing done any soon.

His eye spied onto the way the android tenderly and curiously looked at the cats. He could feel his hands heavy, hurting, and limp as he took the sponge and deeply scrubbed the glass to remove any trace of the tranquilizer. The warm water ran over his soaped hands as he washed the glass. The wound still hurt, just less.

«I truly mean it, Nines», he mumbled closing the faucet, barely audible as the bubbly water whirled down the drain in a spiral, «Don’t waste your time on me. It’s not worth it. I am... not worth it».

«I... don’t think you’re not worth of it. I picked you out of all the potential partners I could have gotten. But I still chose you to be my partner among other candidates. I could have gone literally everywhere, be it CIA, FBI, the Military or the Navy. But there was something that called me, that made me pick you among them all. And despite you don’t want to believe in fate and my system is made of numbers and codes that refuse to work if not by obeying to a carefully crafted logic, there was still something “ _illogical_ ”, if you may pass me the term, in my choosing you.

I knew very well what I was digging into when I applied as your partner.

I knew the odds of you refusing to cooperate with me, the fact that everyone advises me against it, that Captain Fowler tried to dissuade me in any possible way and that even Connor asked me countless times if I wanted to rethink my decision before officially submitting the request.

Yet, the moment I saw you this morning, I just knew I had made the right decision».

«You just have a Florence Nightingale complex. You see a desperate case and just think you may as well stick with it and fix it».

Nines gave him a tentative smile, or what hardly classified as so, as he met Gavin’s green irises. «I know that you struggle to understand what androids find fascinating in human beings. We speak different languages, we come from different worlds. But you do irrational things out of curiosity, Detective, you care for Connor and Lieutenant Anderson despite you detest showing it out of pride. And I must admit, you have a very uncommon way of talking. And yet, even if sometimes you transgress the law, you do it just because you want to get things done in the best way and not let go suspects unpunished. Your records don’t lie about your abilities and even if everyone among your colleagues considers you an asshole, that word has no meaning for me.

You may be an asshole, after all, but you’re well-intentioned».

Gavin scoffed, barely holding back a smile as he crossed his arms, laying against the kitchen counter with all his weight, despite his hurt leg from the morning barely held him steady: «Are you insulting me or actually trying to compliment me?».

«I’m barely stating facts here», Nines tilted his head, his LED finally spinning in a clear ocean blue, shoulders less stiff as he perceived the human’s easing and gradually growing soft on him, «If I’m not intruding or overstepping boundaries, may I take a look at your hand, detective? You didn’t medicate it this morning and it’s badly hurt. I... can feel it even now».

«“ _If I’m not intruding_ ” says the one that tore my phcking door down to barge into my house», the detective gave him the most sardonic of his grins, but there was no real harm behind it, «So what, you wanna peek cause you want me to feel better or just to stop feeling the pain for yourself?».

«I can shut my pain receptors anytime. But I don’t want you to keep feeling that. It feels like it’s hurting a lot. I’m surprised you can hold yourself together so well and look this composed»

«I just got stitched without anesthesia way too many times to barely flinch at pain anymore».

«F̴a̵s̶c̴i̶n̶a̵t̴i̸n̷g̷».

Showed his wounded hand to the android, Gavin barely tilted his head, in a hint of confusion: «What?».

«I said “ _evaluating_ ”. I’m evaluating the damage», quickly corrected the android.

«Of course you are. Planning on doing anything about it, doctor? A smooch to kiss the pain away?».

«You could start by telling me where you keep the first aid and emergency kit for once. I need some clips to extract the shards from your wounds, some sanitizer to clean and disinfect them and gauze to apply some bandage and avoid your cut to get contaminated with bacteria or develop some kind of infection. You can go sit at the table. I guess your cats will be more than eager to be your emotional support while I’ll tend to your hurt hand».

«I don’t have a saying on this, do I?», as he met the silence of the android, Gavin just slouched on the chair and gestured to the hallway, «I don’t have a kit, but there’s some stuff you can find in the bathroom, inside the cabinet. The gauze is almost finished though. Close the door behind you when you enter and exit the bathroom. And pay attention to the glass on the ground. Your man got anger management issues».

Nines gave him a concerned look, but he didn’t dare to add anything else.

As he walked into the bathroom, he realized what Gavin meant, as he witnessed the disaster of broken fragments of glass and blood spattered on some tiles. He carefully stepped over them and opened the cabinet to fetch the disinfectant and what was left of the bandage.

The only clips he could find were contaminated with nose hairs and eyebrows hairs, but it was still better than nothing. He could still disinfect them to prevent any form of infection.

With no cotton on sight, he had to work with the tad paper towel and toilet paper he found.

He gave a quick look to the bathroom bin, piles of plastic wrappings of energy and snack bars stacked one on the top of another, and decided to save the information for further analysis. He got back as quick as possible, surprised for once to find the detective exactly where he left him, sitting and staring out of the window.

Nines carefully dropped the collected stuff on the table and that seemed enough to snap Gavin out of his silence and stretch out his injured hand, the one with the marked wrist, letting the android carefully scan the area to localize all the small shards and assess the damage.

«You’re lucky nothing got under your skin. It could have gotten really unpleasant if that happened».

Gavin rested the chin on his palm and scoffed: «I got through worse, tin can. Got shot once and had Hank remove a bullet from my leg. Didn’t have my insurance back then and an ambulance would have cost me a kidney. Sometimes you gotta work with what you have».

Looking at his wound, the android avoiding meeting the detective’s stare, choosing to leave him some space now that he was slowly opening and feeling at ease. His heartbeat lowered and his protocols were still able to infer his approximate stress levels. Even when he removed the first shards with the clips, Gavin didn’t bat an eye.

Nines still wished this applied for him too.

Every small fragment removed stung like a needle on his pain receptors, tainting his blue LED of yellow hues with each pin puncturing him.

When he started the disinfecting, he felt a wave of relief wash over him.

The wound was definitely doing better now that it was devoid of blood.

«It’s the first time it’s been this blue since this morning».

It was only when the bandaging was done that Gavin snapped out of his silence.

Nines tilted his head, meeting him with a questioning gaze, as the detective tapped his temple and pointed at the androids’ reflection mirrored on the window: «Your LED. It’s the first time I’ve seen it blue for so long. You’ve always been switching between yellow and red all day. I was sincerely thinking you were about to go batshit crazy more than once. That’s what happened with Shaolin... Ortiz’ android. He couldn’t handle the stress and just committed suicide».

«That’s what you were planning to do then? Running away just like he did?».

Gavin shook his head, but there was no bite in his words. No use denying what he was about to do.

«Gosh, you really spit facts huh. Careful with the tea, you’re phcking burning me and I’m even out of bandages now».

Nines gave him an even more puzzled look: «Tea? What tea?».

«Oh God. Never mind», he face-palmed, shifting his attention to the carefully wrapped gauze around his hand, a work way better than what he always did all by himself every time he got hurt, «It’s no news that people sometimes contemplate ending it all when things get harsh. You just want a way out. Soulmates can either be a blessing or a disgrace».

«Maybe we can work a way to avoid you thinking of it as a disgrace»

«You’re saying it right after breaking a hinge of my door and violating the privacy of this sacred house»

«You were about to do something very idiotic and impulsive», Nines punctuated, «You may be in denial about all of this, but I’m still your work partner. I have more than one motivation to assure your wellbeing»

«You’re pretty invasive for a partner. Just saying».

Nines cracked a timid smile.

«Don’t worry, detective Reed. I’ve already placed the order for the repairs to your door as an apology for my behaviour. There will be no more future unauthorized barging inside this house».

Gavin lifted an eyebrow in a sign of surprise: «Really? You’ll let me off the hook?». He wasn’t expecting the playful gaze the android gave him. He should have known beforehand it was the quiet before the storm.

« _Au contraire_ , detective», Nines calmly stated, hands intertwining over the wood surface of the small coffee table, «I think your reckless action and the state of your house right now just proves that you’re not able to take care of yourself in the current situation, you cannot provide for your own nutrition considering the awful amount of energy and snack bars you consume on a daily basis before leaving for work and therefore risk of not being able to provide even for your animals' wellbeing.

You need a balanced diet, not something that contains caffeine and sugars.

Therefore, I shall insist that I become your roommate until my trial period as your soulmate expires».

Gavin wheezed, exploding in a vigorous laugh right at his face, not even trying to hide it anymore: «You’re shitting me, right? You’re– you’re joking! You. Stay here. Trial period. All of this. Please tell me you’re not serious!, you’re not planning on pushing yourself onto me like this! This is madness. God, you must have a bug in there to think that you’re gonna impose yourself on my life _like this_ ».

«Of course I won’t»

«Oh thank God. It was all a joke then? You son of a motherboard, you almost gave me a heart attack–»

«I’ll be respecting of your boundaries during my stay. Which means I’ll enter stasis on the couch and be wary of all of your spaces. I’ll also take the liberty to act whenever I’ll deem your life in danger and keep a close eye on you if you should attempt anything reckless like tonight».

Gavin let his head fall onto the table, forehead hitting the wood as he buried his nape deep under his palms.

«Someone pinch me and tell me this is just a phcking nightmare».

When he felt something wet brush his ear, he just knew Princess ignored his veto on jumping onto the furniture and came to comfort him. What he didn’t expect was to see Arsehole promptly jump onto the android’s shoulder and loudly purr against his ear.

«You see, detective? Your cats accepted me. It seems like you’re outmatched».

Gavin let out a deep sigh.

«I’m doing it only for the cats. And no telling anyone about all of this, we’re clear?»

«Can I tell Connor?»

«You already did, you cheating son of a toaster».

Nines smirked in contentment.

«Well, we got to the point of predicting each other’s behaviour. I see we’re on the same wavelength, detective. This may be easier than it looks».

Gavin gave him the finger: «If you’re so sure about this whole thing, you may as well get on first-name basis privately. I bet Connor calls Hank “ _Lieutenant_ ” only when they have hot and sweaty adult fun time».

«I wouldn’t know since I always shut down my auditory inputs during my stay at their house. Glad I’ll be doing without it for a long time».

«Ugh. I feel like I’m doing a charity job by letting you stay here»

«If thinking of it this way makes you feel better, why not?».

Gavin stood up from the table.

A quick look at the clock told him it was way beyond the time he usually slid under the blankets. He cleared his throat, gesturing with his bandaged hand: «Uhm. I’m gonna take a nap. Or try to. Thanks for the handjob, I guess».

He stalled for a second.

«I– phck. I mean».

Nines raised his eyebrows, and it was his turn to almost laugh.

«Don’t give me that shit-eating grin. You know what I mean».

«Of course», he gently stroked Princess’ fur, LED spinning blue, «Anytime, Gavin».

His cheeks tinged of a blue hue, but it lasted less than a few second before the android averted his gaze and returned to pet the animal.

«I’ll be waiting for you in the morning. Have a good night».

Gavin scratched his nape, mouth pouting as his face slightly blushed.

«Yeah, yeah. G’night to you too, I guess».


	3. // PARTITION 3 //

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! This is the third part of "Accident"! This chapter features the lovely art of [@aurea-b](https://aurea-b-art.tumblr.com/), so if you didn't check her out already, please do! She's an amazing partner and I couldn't ask for more! I hope you're all gonna enjoy this new chapter! Stay tuned for the next updates! 🧡

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 3 \\\

«A birdie just told me someone has a new roommate. And I can’t hold back from expressing my disappointment. I thought you trusted me enough to tell me first, Gavin. What is with Connor being your new confidant? You hated the guy».

Gavin loudly grunted as he took a sip of the blonde beer in his tumbler, eyes absent-mindedly lost in contemplating the white foam as he barely listened to Tina. The pub was strangely crowded considering it was a Wednesday afternoon and the long line at the cash register was probably one of the reasons for which Tina took all this time to get seated.

«Why didn’t you use the app like everyone else? The last person I’ve seen paying by cash is Hank, and the same night he did that we’ve been thrown out of the bar cause he apparently tried to foist the bartender a fake bill. Straightly from the counterfeited stash in the evidence archive. It was one of the most embarrassing days of my life, so to speak. And you know I keep a long-ass list of them, considering I’m the Fate’s favorite plaything».

Tina shrugged her shoulders, parsimoniously sipping her margarita, intrigued as the detective suddenly shut off, now stroking the edge of his tumbler, reluctant more than usual to drink.

«Oh, don’t be a Grinch, Gavin. You used that story for months to brag about the fact that you and Hank got into a fight with two thugs over a ten dollars bill», she took another sip of her drink, resting her chin on the knuckles, giving him an interested and sly look, one finger now curling a strand of hair around it, «You’re always acting all tough just for the likes. What’s the tea with the new android, now? I saw you two storm out of the precinct a few days ago. Then, before I knew it, Chris told me I lost our bet and I owed him more than twenty dollars. Which, if you ask me, looks unfair, cause in the end you two are living together».

As she heard his grunted noise, she couldn’t help but press him for more info.

«Come on, don’t shut off with me. Drink nights are made to open up about problems. And my instinct says something is definitely wrong with you».

«Oh, praise tell me»

«Save the sarcasm for Connor», Tina waved her hand, now gesturing to the detective’s right wrist, long sleeves covering the arms despite being the first days of May, «You never let someone stay at your place, not even for a quickie. How serious is this thing? You met him a few days ago. And he’s an android. Connor’s look-alike. So. What’s happened? I can only think of a plausible reason for you to live with him and it’s–».

Gavin winced alarmed on his seat and quickly gestured her to shut up, now anxiously looking around him, scouting the entire pub, just to make sure nobody caught on her innuendo, no matter how loud the lounge music was and how no one, androids, and humans, could care less about him.

«Keep your voice down», his hands trembled as the cold sweat mixed with the cold drops of the tumbler, fingers slightly shaking at the implications of what she was about to say, «I-! Phck, no! He’s not. I mean, it’s not that important. Even if he were my... y’ know– it doesn’t matter. We agreed on staying on a sort of... trial thing».

Sucking her lips from the salt of the margarita, Tina tilted her head and barely held back a laugh: « _Trial_ what now? Gavin, do you even listen to yourself? Soulmates don’t work with a satisfied or refunded policy. Are you insane or what? You have the opportunity of a lifetime! This is literally what you’ve been waiting for for years, bitching about day and night hangover, and now that you’re finally there, you’re tossing your chance away?! I can’t believe your audacity. I wish I had half your luck».

«Come on, don’t be hypocritical. It’s not about luck. I’m keeping him around just cause he makes me coffee and feeds the cats when I’m too tired or worn out to do that. We don’t sleep together or cuddle or do all the weird shit people do. He’s eventually gonna get tired. And the moment he does, I won’t even need to tell him to phck off».

«Soulmates don’t get tired of each other»

«Well, duh, he’s been around for what?, five months? He barely interacted with anyone else, the moment he sees there are way better choices than this rotting bag of meat, he’s gonna ditch me like everyone else and run away with another android or human»

«Oh, so you _do_ care», Tina gave him a sly look, this time not missing the way his green eyes tried in every way to avoid meeting her gaze and hide the hurt feeling of rejection, «Listen, no one knows him and I’d be mocking you if I told you the entire bullpen isn’t scared of getting near him. But I can tell the guy doesn’t look like an asshole, Gavin. He just looks like a kicked puppy. He’s always sticking to Connor wherever he goes and he avoids going to the break room to drink that blue gooey thing if you’re not with him».

Gavin snorted, holding back a cuss.

«Don’t act childish, you know it ain’t working on me!», giving him her stern look, she felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her when the detective finally gave her his attention, looking more like a reprimanded kid, «Why don’t you stop being stubborn for once and give him a chance? Maybe he’s not that bad, Gavin. Maybe it’s just you projecting your insecurities, you know? I see the way he looks at you»

«Oh my God, great. So you’re telling me the entire Department knows he’s simping for me»

«He’s not _simping_. But everyone who experienced having a soulmate can recognize that look everywhere. There’s something about the way he looks at you. It’s something irrational, that can barely be controlled. It’s more than a magnetic attraction. You two are destined to be, and the sooner you accept it, the better it is».

«You can walk on my rotting corpse before I accept a tin can as my–», he bit his lower lip and decided to chug down some beer just to forget about it for a second, the implications of recognizing that of all the people on the walking surface of Earth, he had to be paired with a walking toaster, «Why did it have to happen to me?! Couldn’t it happen to, I don’t know, Person? That cunt even fined me, she might as well get some karma for it!».

«I thought you’d be content with your partner, considering you even named him», Tina raised her eyebrows, not missing the look of surprise Gavin was now giving her, «I know you too well, mister Reed. You can act tough in front of me, but your legs probably turn to mashed potatoes at the thought of having a wild night of hot, sweaty sex with him».

«Stop it»

«Oh, what? You’re telling me I’m wrong?»

«It’s not always about sex, Tina!», he pinched his nose, the music of the pub suddenly way too loud for his ears, «Of course he’s motherphckin’ hot! You want me to admit that he looks like he just walked out of my wet dreams? Cause he indeed is. And this only pisses me off even more. He’s, _phck_ , I could die for those long legs alone. I woke up more than once these nights popping a boner. But I’m not enough of an asshole to jump him like a goddamn walking sex doll. He doesn’t deserve it».

Tina knitted her brows, lips quivering in a sweet smile: «I cannot believe you’re really keeping it in your pants just cause you care about him! And you’re such a pussy that you don’t want to admit it!».

«Shut up! I don’t care about him! I just– ugh!», he held his wrist, gritting his teeth as an unsettling feeling started growing a pit in his stomach, «Why is it hurting now of all moments. I swear I can’t take any more of this burning thing. Every day I feel this scorching feeling in my wrist, it’s like having coals on my skin every second I breathe. I dealt with pain my entire life but I don’t want any of this. It’s like the universe is forcing me to accept it!»

«Well, then stop fighting it, will you? If you keep this attitude, is just gonna hurt both of you!»

«You talk of it like it’s some sort of easy thing! Do you even see how Connor acts around Hank? He’s literally his nanny. Always checking what he eats, what he does– the man has no privacy! He treats him like a man incompetent of looking after himself like he wasn’t the most decorated officer we ever had. Damn, I looked up to him. We were friends. And I know Connor is well-intentioned but what will happen to me if I just decide to go with the flow?».

«I don’t know Gavin, you tell me?», Tina nibbled the lime on her cocktail, not even caring to hold back the sarcasm, «You live your happily ever after?».

«One day I’m gonna wake up alone. That’s what is gonna happen. The guy is gonna find out how many better alternatives there are out there, find out that he doesn’t have to use words to express a concept when he can share a touch with another android to talk about the Major Systems, that he doesn’t need a human when he has the most powerful brain on the Earth, that he can set up for literally anything better than me».

He let out a quivering breath, struggling to keep it together.

«Let’s face it, Tina. I have baggage. I’m a suicidal mess. The only good thing that can come out of me is my love for my cats. I’m a motherphckin’ rag, and if you squint me, all you can get out of this disaster is a bucket full of coffee. I’ll never accept him as my...», his eyes drifted to his covered mark, a layer of clothes and a coat hiding it, «As whatever he is. I’m indulging him just so I can keep my job».

* * *

He didn’t want to deal with Tina’s resenting stares.

He knew damn good soulmate talk was a touchy argument for both of them, and it was indeed disrespectful and insensitive of him to bring up such a topic to her, a desperate soul just like he was until a few days ago, who had been waiting to find her special person for a lifetime.

She probably thought he was being an ungrateful dick, but for once, he couldn’t care less.

When he got out of the taxi, it was barely midnight and the lights in his apartment were still on. Not that he was surprised – _he was dealing with an android after all_.

The moment his keys clicked into the lock, he wasn’t too surprised to find the RK900 exactly where he left him, straightly sitting on his couch, the back barely resting on the cushions, one hand on his lap, where Princess was currently loudly purring with each stroke, fingers straightening her fur with every caress, and the other hand now holding a book.

Nines wasn’t the most expressive of the androids, but in the few days he’d been staying at his place, he always greeted him whenever he got home with what looked like a hint of a smile if his stare slightly lighting up could be classified as much.

But right now his LED was set in an intense red and his eyes looked alert as they were no longer staring at the yellowed pages of “ _A Handful of Happiness_ ” but were meeting his own.

«I-», his tone betrayed surprise. For a second, he wondered if he didn’t expect him to be home this early. «Gavin. You’re already...».

The detective hanged his coat on the hanger on the back of the door and gave a tiny scratch to the orangey fur of Arsehole, promptly picking him up and scooting him between his arms like a small baby.

«Local android finds out I can get home whenever the phck I want considering I’m the house owner», he shook his head, but there was no real bite to his words, «I see someone got pretty comfortable with my belongings while I was drowning my problems in alcohol. When the cat’s away, the mice will play».

He expected by now the android to make some silly remark about his words, what surprised him was that Nines completely ignored him, resuming instead his reading, silvery eyes furiously rapt by the page as he turned it and proceeded on savoring the words, taking his sweet time with them.

«I mean– I’m not reprimanding you. But, y’ know, I thought you guys could read e-books. Wouldn’t it be way faster than, huh, having to flip pages every second? I mean, I wish I could be able to do that. I’d get my work done way faster».

Maybe it was the way he almost gave a sarcastic laugh or maybe just the fact that he was barely trying to be decent for once. Either way, this was enough for Nines to give him an embarrassing attempt at a smile as his cheeks tinged teal.

«I prefer this way», he suspended his analysis of the page, ignoring the fact that there were clear traces of salty remains and tears among the one he was reading, and now focused his attention on the curiosity look the detective was giving him, «Connor taught me sometimes it’s more entertaining engaging with media classically. And I found myself appreciating the feeling of the paper on my fingers. Most of my sensors are here, so I can feel it just like a human would. It’s a rough texture, and a book definitely says more about its owner than a simple pdf bought on sale».

Gavin took a seat next to him, relaxing on the couch as he gave a peek at the page Nines was reading, letting his cat sit on the armrest of the sofa.

«Oh. You got to that point», reading through the lines, he knitted his brows, ignoring the fact that his shoulder was now close to Nines’ and he could feel an unusual warm feeling coming from him, «I’m surprised you didn’t cry your guts out in this part. I was in tears when the guy released _Ninna_ in the wild».

Nines frowned, fingers stalling on the paper, tracing small circles on it as his lips flattened, mouth corners curling into a melancholic grimace. «I cannot–», he held back a shaky sigh, keeping himself from ruining the page, accidentally tearing it with his strength, barely holding back all the inadequacy feelings that were now hitting him like a train running at full speed.

«I’m sorry. I should have mentioned sooner that I’m physically unable to cry».

 _No matter how much he wanted to right now_.

He could feel Gavin flinch against him.

Maybe he didn’t deserve that chance after all.

Not only he was a soulmate that Gavin wasn’t willing to accept for being an android, not only he was designed as a killing machine and probably had a high possibility of being rejected for being simply an android, but he was unable of expressing his own feelings in a human way.

He was peak uncanny valley.

Gavin would have never wanted to spend another second with him.

Maybe he should have run away, just accept that it was never meant to be.

He could still ask for a transfer.

No matter how many kind words Connor could have spared for him, RK800-51 was his predecessor, one of the most empathetic androids out there. He was built and programmed with an advanced software that made him a one of a kind, understanding and provided of social intelligence. He had protocols he could only dream of if only he was able to _dream_ ; a perfect, integrated machine that knew how to manipulate people and how to fake feelings when needed, friend with every person in the precinct, loved by kids, and cheered by animals.

He was designed for investigation purposes and interrogating criminals –of course, such an advanced prototype had to know how to sweeten his words to get information out of anyone. The fact that Sixty still decided to act like an ass and be hated by his entire team was due to his poor decision making and awful personality.

But Nines was an outcast, one of a kind.

A discarded prototype for a war that would never be fought. Feared by the human and android-kind indiscriminately. It was pure coincidence that Gavin did just hate him or barely tolerate him, instead of showing fear like every other person who barely interacted with him.

Yet his look of sheer surprise was a knife that cut deepest than any testing that was performed on him.

«I’m sorry, Gavin», his voice faltered as he barely realized it was already too late to patch up his mistake, «I know I shouldn’t have brought it up. I made you uncomfortable».

 _“But if this had a chance of work, he would have found out sooner or later”_.

Gavin was probably already feeling crept up by him. The way he was looking at him didn’t help. Yet his lips were turned into a grimace of pain as he held his wrist.

«You are sad though, right?».

Nines snapped out of his thoughts, now giving him a confused look.

«I mean», Gavin anxiously gesticulated, now looking at the book, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to sustain the hurt stare of the android at that moment, nor the way his knitted bros were absently staring at him, «Say you were able to do that. You’d be doing it, right? You’re feeling sad when you’re reading this stuff, right?».

Nines LED circled red as he tried to make out the meaning of the detective’s words.

There was some delicacy and fragility in the way Gavin showed his feelings, beating around the bush and giving the impression of walking on eggshells all the time. Baring his thoughts and guessing other people’s feelings wasn’t probably what he did best, as his hands tried to hide the growing trembling.

«This shit has been hurting and nagging me all the time while I was out. And now that you’re saying all of this, it’s kinda burning. It’s hot and uncomfortable. Nothing I cannot handle of course but, maybe it’s not all about the way you show it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t express it. You... you are sad about it, right?».

Nines held the book, fingers now lighter on the page as they grazed the yellowed surface.

«Of course I am», he wasn’t expecting the cracked smile from the detective, «I grew emotionally attached to the small hedgehog of the story. The author cared so deeply for her that is impossible not to feel any kind of attachment. He handles Ninna as a precious thing despite at the beginning of the story he barely knows anything on how to handle or take care of a hedgehog. How do you even tend an animal so small when you’re so strong in comparison? So tiny and fragile. I can’t help but relate to him. He just... doesn’t know. But at the same time, after caring for a long time, he knows he has to let her go if he wants her to be happy. That’s why it’s heartbreaking. Because... despite he knows it’s for her own good, he does something that hurts him just to make her happy».

Gavin tilted his head, meeting the icy eyes of the android, as his fingers were now resting over the pages with the pictures of the hedgehog, tiny as it rested between the hands of the writer, nothing but a little brownie ball. There was indeed something in that animal that was fascinating the android, a small living being that barely sat between open hands, full of quills and with tiny fingers paws.

«Is this what you intend to do with me too? Caring about me, patching and fixing me up and then releasing me in the wild?».

RK900 didn’t need to inhale, but the sharp air intake was a symptom that he was damn right about that one.

«I just want you to be happy, Gavin. I won’t hide the fact that my desire for this to work is... egoistical, so I’m more than conscious that if I want your happiness, I shall accept whatever decision you’ll come up with at the end of this trial period. Still, my main objective is for you to be happy and intend to help in every way I possibly can».

As he took in his words, Gavin uncomfortably gestured his hands, desperately trying not to sound embarrassed about it. «Huh, well, that’s rather selfless of you», he shifted on the couch cushion, now resting his elbow on the armrest, «And what about your desires? Don’t you have any, hmm, expectation...».

A growing pit of guilt rose in his stomach at the realization that this android was seriously willing to sacrifice his entire life just because of his choice.

It wasn’t like he was having any second thoughts.

But still– Nines was a military model.

He knew he didn’t have any elaborated social module – _he told him so himself_ , yet why wasn’t he putting up a fight?, why he acted so resigned?

His words were still hanging as an uncomfortable silence set between them.

Trying to clear his voice, he scratched his stubble, just to gain some time and pretend he didn’t just have a moment of self-doubt in his mind.

«I mean, don’t you have any thoughts on this as well? Hopes? Stuff like that?».

«Why would I. All I know is from what I’ve seen so long, but I’ve never been in a relationship or interacted with humans besides you, Captain Fowler, or Lieutenant Anderson. I wouldn’t know what soulmates do. I–», his cheeks tinged cerulean as his hands suddenly grabbed his tights, desperately anchoring to the pants’ fabric just to avoid the tension of the argument brought up, «I’d like to experience some kind of... proximity. But I won’t ask that out of you. I told you I’d respect your boundaries and I’m willing to do so. I’m content even with sharing a seat right now».

«You do realize I won’t kill you if you ask for a hug, do you?»

«I wouldn’t know since you gave me the order to avoid touching you on the first day of our partnership».

Gavin scooted closer on the couch, trying to avoid the embarrassment of being caught off guard.

«Listen, dipshit–», he quickly corrected himself, palms already sweating, avoiding in any way to address the fact that the mark was still sitting in his wrist, a grim reminder of their intertwined destinies, two souls united by a red unbreakable thread, no matter how long he wanted to deny that reality, «Nines, you know damn well why I told you that. But, considering this whole, huh», he gestured back and forth at himself and then at the android, «Considering this whole situation, avoiding contact is pointless right now. And I may be an asshole but not to the point of saying no to someone asking for comfort or whatever floats your mumbo-jumbo positronic brain».

«It’s not positronic», as his clench on the jeans softened, Nines met Gavin’s verdant eyes and surprisingly realized his heart rate was increasing in alert, «I’m rather surprised that you made such a reference. It’s not a common knowledge. Did you read Isaac Asimov’s novels or watch science fiction series by any chance, detective?».

«Shut up»

«You hate androids yet–»

«You still want the hug or you want a punch in your goddamn stomach, tin can?!».

Nines frowned and slowly leaned against Gavin, as he awkwardly sat straight on his seat, awkwardly and embarrassingly welcoming the android in a hug. As his arms closed around the RK900’s frame, Nines could feel the warmth embracing him, the soothing coziness and heat of the human’s body mixing with his less than tepid skin.

Before he knew it, his cheeks were heavily blushing and a sigh escaped his parted lips as the internal fans kicked in to regulate his rising temperature.

Gavin’s hoodie smelt of cigarettes and of the alcohol from the pub he came back from. There were traces of fur scattered here and there, and the coffee molecules impregnated the fabric. Some threads were loosened due to the age of the clothing, yet he could tell this was one of his favorite hoodie by how worn the material was.

He could feel the detective’s hands now awkwardly resting on his shoulder blades, touching the jacket and probably feeling the soft texture. Yet, there was an awkward care in the way his palms brushed his back, drawing circles in a soothing, calming motion.

Nines rested his head in his collarbone, his auditory sensors’ sensibility now heightening as he listened to the pulsating veins under the olive complexion, rough skin with barely visible scars and old cuts, stitches that couldn’t be counted on the tip of fingers for how many they were.

He could hear the blood pumping with every heartbeat.

«Hey. Hum, not to make this weird but», Gavin clenched the soft android’s jacket, thankful for the fact that the RK900 wasn’t looking directly at his face right now, but just resting his cheek and ear between his neck and his collar – _otherwise he would have noticed his reddish blush_ , «You can hug me back, you know. I mean, it’s gonna be awkward if it’s just me».

“ _And if there’s a god out there, please let him not notice that I’m a touch-starved mess_ ”.

He wasn’t getting attached, he wasn’t craving his touch, he would have been okay with literally anyone else, he kept telling himself.

But still, he barely held back a yelp as Nines’ palms crept up to his back, grazing his blades before his arms completely embraced him, holding him tightly, with such a sheer fear of abandonment and yet delicacy that Gavin could barely tell it was the same android from a few days ago.

Nines’ arms were strong, he did tell him he was capable of crushing metal and steel if he was given the possibility to, yet his limbs held him like a precious gem, protecting the human walking mess he was like a treasured artifact.

He didn’t know what he was expecting when he agreed to this out of pity.

But the android’s sighs of contentment and relief weren’t certainly on his list of previsions.

Oh, _please God_ , let him not have a boner over a little display of affection, cause he couldn’t have any of it right now. No matter how much Nines was hot and his walking wet-dream, there was still a line he couldn’t cross and he wasn’t in any condition to storm to the bathroom and get a cold shower without raising any suspicion.

He wasn’t this pathetic – _but phck if Nines’ hug was tight_.

His sighing in his shoulder was starting to make him shiver and it was _no good_.

No matter what his erection was starting to think.

«H-Hey tin can. You okay in there?, got a faulty breathing routine?».

Nines loosened his hug a little, now meeting the detective’s confused and query gaze.

It was impossible to ignore the dilated pupils, blackberries filling his emerald irises, nor could his elevated and crazy heartbeat escape his analysis. Nines himself shouldn’t have felt riled, but there was no denying that that hug was getting some interesting physiological reactions out of the detective’s body.

Was it chemistry?

Was there something in him that turned the detective on?

Before he could make any assumptions, a message popped up on the right corner of his HUD.

“ _Gavin finds me aesthetically pleasing?_ ”.

Was he feeling... pride?, satisfaction?

Embarrassment?

 _Excitation_?

«My internal temperature is rising. Sighing and breathing is a routine that helps me lowering it. It’s called homeostasis. I believe you know it, considering it’s nothing different from how a human body works. You use perspiration and eliminate heat by sweating. We do that by breathing».

 _Thanks rA9_ , he was still able to keep his composure through his voice box.

Gavin scratched his nape, visibly embarrassed, shifting on his seat as Nines’ hands still rested on his arms.

«Uh. Well, that technical explanation killed the mood now».

Nines tilted his head as he let go of his homers, fingers sliding along the fabric and touching the detective’s for a second, before completely separating from him.

«What mood?»

«The...», flinching, Gavin now crossed his legs, hiding his obvious excitement and the fact that shame was washing over him at the realization he was getting so worked up just by a hug and some innocent touches, that every casual caress was giving him shivers and making him burn in desire and irrational yearning.

He snatched the book next to him and casually covered his crouch with it as one hand slid in his pockets.

«Never mind», groaning, he bit the inside of his lip, waving a hand dismissively, «Say, don’t you have anything else to do? You had your hug, you should be alright and good to go, right?».

Nines struggled to keep the focus on the detective over the warning signs he was getting on his HUD, all of them indicating the fact that Gavin was showing awfully blatant signs of arousal, picking up now his ever more elevated heartbeat – _132 bpm_ , now his dilated pupils, the blood influx all directed towards his covered crotch, the tensed muscles and the way he kept nibbling, biting and licking his lower lip, torturing it.

His hidden hand was scratching his thigh from inside the pocket and he could bet his first pay that the moment he left to do something else, Gavin would have stormed to the bathroom or the bedroom to get off his arousal in the fastest way, cursing under his breath.

He couldn’t blame him.

His internal temperature was rising as well and he barely struggled to keep his skin from retracting during the hug. His wires were aching for a touch, for a pull, for a tug, and he didn’t know how long he could keep on ignoring the requests from his body to just allow to open his back port on his nape and get some relief, just stick his fingers inside the moment no one saw him and get off his high by reliving those moments, that hug and the codes and numbers and that made up that memory.

Enough to enjoy a preconstruction of his lips on Gavin’s, biting and kissing them as the rough detective’s fingers unfastened his belt, sliding inside his boxers as the others toyed with his wires.

Was this the magnetic and chemical attraction everyone mentioned when talking about soulmates? The irresistible craving for each other?

Yet it was different for some people.

Literature said there were different effects on people depending on whether they were in the spectrum of asexuality or aromanticism.

Yet there was no denying his feelings for the detective were very much real, and he already missed that hug, the happiness, and completion he felt from his arms around his body.

The heat.

The warmth.

The breath on Gavin on his skin.

He wanted all of this so _badly_.

«Tin can, you blue-screened on me or something?», Gavin snapped his fingers, now calling for his attention.

This seemed enough to wake Nines from his trance.

«I’m sorry. I was still elaborating my sensations»

«It was just a hug. No big deal»

“ _Smooth talk coming from the man who just got an erection because of it_ ”

Nines ignored his thought. Conflict wouldn’t have helped him, especially now that he felt a little more closer to Gavin. «Does this mean we can do it sometime soon?», he instead asked hesitantly.

If he could read minds, he would have heard the detective cursing in every known language in his mind.

«I mean– You’re kinda warm. If I stick close to you when I relax on the couch, I may save some money to heat the apartment. You come with the reading books aloud function too? Cause I’ve been thinking to unsubscribe from Audible for a long time».

«Do you want to read my manual? Maybe you can find all your answers there»

«Hell no. I hate reading manuals. Yours is probably long as heck». Gavin stretched an arm to take a blanket from the armrest and cover his legs, now visibly uncomfortable: «Huh. You sure you don’t have anything to do? Maybe feed the cats again or make a video or mind-call or whatever it’s called with the other prick?».

Nines hid his arms behind his back.

«You call him prick, but he’s your friend and you regularly send him pictures of your cats», The android attempted to give him a wink, just the way he had seen Connor do countless times to Hank. Seeing the detective flinch and divert his gaze as he tightened the hold on his legs wasn’t an expected reaction. But it was _very much_ appreciated. Further proof that _perhaps_ there was something to it.

«Worry not. I’ll contact Connor. Maybe he can provide me some tips on how to make decent pancakes. I need you to be in a good mood, after all».

Not that he wanted to talk with his predecessor at that moment but he could still pretend for the sake of Gavin’s pride that he did have to discuss something about cooking with him.

«I should also let you know that in the next days, Captain Fowler wants to hold a meeting to plan an undercover operation. Your interrogation provided us enough intel to intercept a dealer and maybe get into the ring. The Mauve Angel traffic isn’t widespread already, so we may be in time to stop it before it makes it to the news».

Gavin uncomfortably stood from the couch as the android was now giving his shoulders, crouching to fill the food bowl of the cats.

«Uh. That’s great. I mean, the sooner we’re done, the better it is».

* * *

**Detroit Police Department, 4th May 2039. Meeting Room.**

«The suspect Jeremiah Wilson has been held in custody since the day of his arrest, on April 27th. After his confession, he’s been charged with drug trafficking and culpable homicide. The silver lining is that thanks to his cooperation, we now know how the drug users and providers enter in contact with the ringleader.

Captain Allen and Sixty are currently working on retrieving the application data. We are in contact with Cyberlife’s former CEO Elijah Kamski to help us understand the way their application operates».

Connor indicated the whiteboard, projecting from his unmarked wrist the steps and procedures of the ongoing investigation.

The meeting room was silent as everyone’s eyes were on him.

Even Sixty was currently sitting quietly and observing the explanation as his LED spun yellow, recording the contents of the conference for further analysis. The closeness with the SWAT team made him pick up weird human quirks, first of them all, the way he munched on the tip of pencils and broke pens indiscriminately whenever he was lost in thoughts or anxious.

No wonder every time he stopped by the precinct, there was a graveyard of munched and unrecognizable pieces of wood that looked eaten by woodworms or broken in halves biros, with drops of ink disseminated on the ground like bloodstains.

Allen was quite used to use cleaning products to remove the black, red, or blue stains from the android’s teeth by now.

Nines held his fingers over his right wrist, toying with the hem of his black and white coat.

He could feel the increasing tension coming from the detective next to him, hood covering his head and scruffy and curled hair, as he stared concentrated, and focused at the whiteboard, exploring the connections.

He kept biting the inside of his cheek. It must have been swollen by now.

As Connor kept on explaining the details of the current investigation, Hank stood up and taped a paper-printed diagram to the board.

He heavily cleared his throat as he illustrated the scheme, supporting the android.

«The scissors Reed and Nines found in the apartment have been used to remove the android ability of self-agency. While some advanced androids such as prototypes like the RK-line lack this function, the same cannot be said about androids from previous and more commercialized lines. Removing the android’s agency consents to reprogrammed them via the USB cable and the Bluetooth application “ _Mauve Angel_ ”, by granting the user direct access to their brains».

«Wouldn’t that require some programming knowledge though?», Miller raised his arm, stopping from taking notes.

Sixty had no problems in stepping in and taking the word, now sending the application screenshots directly to the agent’s phone.

«It’s not as difficult as it seems», he showed the hologram on his left wrist for the others to see as well, «The interface of the application is user-friendly. Nothing that a human that grew up with technology at its disposal wouldn’t know how to handle. It’s a pretty simple menu that allows to reprogram easily every aspect of the personality of the android, insert the destination and allow them to reach the facility where the blood gets extracted to produce the Mauve Angel».

«So, Jeremiah Wilson reprogrammed Elise Tadson before leaving the apartment. He gave her the command to reach the facility or the people that would have brought her there after he left her alone in the time between 19.30 and 19.45. Then, he returned to the apartment, and after a moment of panicking, he tried to remove all the traces of what was done. Is that right?», asked Gavin in confirmation.

«So it seems», Connor sat on the edge of the glass desk, rubbing his hands, «Mr. Wilson confirmed us he didn’t know thirium evaporated but left traces still visible to any android eyes. That’s why even though he cleaned the scissors, he didn’t think of hiding them».

Hank took the manila folder with the new additions to the case, now rummaging through the new files: «The Mauve Angel usage isn’t still diffused, so if we can put a halt to this, we have to act fast. Of course, to do so we’ll need to send someone undercover that will pose as a couple of soulmates interested in gaining money over selling their partners off».

«You’re telling me the guy did that consciously?», Reed took off his hoodie, this time taking a good look at the folder Hank handled him.

«Wilson confirmed to us that he was a former android hater. The moment he found out his soulmate was an android, he struggled to accept it. He said they’ve spent some good moments together but it wasn’t after too long that a friend of another friend told him he could still make some money out of it. After all, if your partner dies, your mark goes away and you may get another chance», Hank shrugged his shoulders, merely holding back a grimace of sheer disgust, «Apparently, our friend decided that Elise was worth the shot».

Reed studied the folder, reading the declarations over and over again.

“ _Just a little more to gain her trust_ ”, that was a new addition, Connor must have insisted on pressuring him even after his own interrogation some days before, “ _We were already intimate, but certain functions are accessible only by the inside. I needed her to open her port for me and allow me to go as deep as I could between the wires to access that sweet spot. So I did my research. Read her manual. Checked which wire would reduce the pain sensibility and tugged it. She trusted me. She let me touch her. Once I hit that button, she went putty between my hands. She tried to reboot, but the moment I linked the application, she was nothing more than a silicone dolly_ ”.

He flinched, lips curling into revulsion as a shiver ran through his back. He could tell his stomach was twisting, and the more he re-read those lines, the more he felt a sickening feeling creeping up his shoulders, a pit in his stomach growing heavier and heavier, to the size of a boulder.

«How much did he make out of her, to think it would be worth it?».

Hank gave him a stern look, which made Reed seriously doubted the man thought for a second he would be asking for his own interest.

«They’re being paid a thousand dollars per liter of thirium, with additional payments correlated to the quality and the purity of the blood. The sellers are encouraged to play nice and be loving to their partners before sending them off, cause the more love they feel, the higher quality the drug will be, and the more rewarding the pay.

He told us he knew of a friend that made even ten thousand dollars out of an android. You also need a certain degree of intimacy and trust to access the wires. It’s a _play hard_ to get».

He handled him a printed QR code.

«This contains the address of one of the facilities. We cannot storm in there right now without other evidence outside of a confession. We need to catch them red-handed. And the only way to do so is to send someone undercover».

Reed took a heavy sigh as he stared at the paper, feeling Nines’ stare on him as well.

«And the lucky team would be us?».

«You fit the profile, Reed. You’re a former android hater. I’m pretty sure you can set aside your pride for one mission»

«You just said prototypes can’t be reset»

«But this doesn’t mean that their blood won’t make a delicious drug as well», Hank leaned against the desk, crossing his arms, «Listen, I’d go myself but I’m not willing to risk Con’s goddamn life. I don’t want to shit you, but you’re the only one markless here among us. And Nines is your partner. You’re the only qualified to be sent there. All you need is to pose like a couple for a few days, go to certain sites of interest to let people who work in the drug ring know that you two are an item, let one of them approach you, and then promise them you’re in for some juicy stuff. Once the contact will give you the app via Bluetooth, you’ll offer to accompany Nines there and find a way to immediately call for backup».

Nines flinched.

«Ugh, whatever you say. I’m past the need to argue about this shit anymore».

His mark was burning again.

Gavin wasn’t so adamant about the mission, despite his dismissive attitude. And no matter how much he wanted to reach out to Connor, he knew he was the only one suitable for the mission. And maybe– if he died trying he would have solved a problem for Gavin, would he? Maybe he could just make the most out of the days they would have pretended to be publicly a couple.

He was low-key tempted to lower his pain receptors, but the fact that Gavin was feeling upset over their newly assigned mission was a conundrum he was curious to uncover.

Was he tense because he was afraid of his image?, of having to pretend to be a couple?, or was it out of preoccupation and worrying?

The Lieutenant stared at the now silent room.

Tina was biting her nails, showing an awkwardly tense mood and Gavin retired under his hoodie, feet on the table as he was reading the last details of the interrogatory over and over again.

The RK900 gaze sometimes rested on him, but even for his liking, he was more silent than usual.

A feeling that didn’t properly sit right with Hank, but that he couldn’t do anything about it.

«Well, if no one has to add anything else, the meeting is adjourned».

He clapped his hands, watching as everyone progressively left the room.

Gavin was the first to stand – _not surprising for the Lieutenant_ , but he wasn’t expecting Nines to storm behind him soon after.

* * *

He knew where he could find him.

After all, that was the same place where he ran a week before with Connor in his time of need. The restroom was always deserted so early in the morning and the detective should have known better than him despite having no access to CCTV.

Everyone was already busy with patrolling or fieldwork, which made it even more likely that the bathroom was empty. After all, almost half of the personnel was composed of androids.

Nines gently pulled the door, trying to make as little noise as possible.

He could hear some sickened hiccups coming from the last bathroom stall on the right, mixed with occasional gags and coughs. No wonder why his mark wouldn’t stop hurting, and scorching his skin. At this rate, he really would have had to turn off the pain receptors.

He delicately knocked on the stall, waiting for an answer, cooing Gavin’s name the same way he called for ~~their~~ the detective’s cats.

«Leave me alone tin can. Can’t you see I’m phckin’ sick right now», the detective coughed once more, embracing the toilet as he trembled against the ceramic, cold drops of sweat drenching his furrowed forehead.

Nines’ readings of his body were alarming.

He was indeed having a panic attack.

«Gavin, please, let me in. I just want to help»

«What part of leave me alone you don’t phckin’ understand!»

«The part where I object to it», the android leaned his head against the stall, hand lingering on the doorknob.

He could have torn it apart with a single pull, yet Gavin didn’t deserve an inch of that violence. His HUD screamed to help him yet his head kept telling and reminding him to respect _his boundaries_ , _his will_.

This human was giving his system a hard time, he never needed to cool off so often in his months alive.

«Gavin, please, I’ll leave you alone if–».

He didn’t expect his sensors to be knocked off by the sudden opening of the door. He nearly stumbled to maintain his equilibrium as his eyes laid on Gavin, now slouching on the toilet, hair disheveled, and face pale as he flinched and trembled, shivering from head to toe. He was drooling and pointlessly covering his mouth with a palm, to avoid the fact that he’d been trying to throw up in the last minutes.

Nines kneeled in front of him, to his same height, and gently extended his hand to wipe the sweat off the forehead: «Gavin...?».

Gavin didn’t have enough willpower to fight that gesture of affection.

He just rolled over and leaned his back against the toilet, as the android took off his jacket to cover his shoulders, seeing how badly he kept on trembling.

«D-Don’t cover me, dumbass. I need to take some shit off... I feel like I’m... fainting... head.. spinning...»

«You’re shivering, you need something warm–»

«Bullshit. I need cold. J-Just let me lie down a little and hold my legs high. I need to lay on the pavement without you telling me it’s not hygienic. My head’s spinnin’ like a frickin’ merry-go-round, I think I’m gonna throw up if it doesn’t stop in five seconds».

Nines silently obeyed as he helped the detective taking off his hoodie between shivers and laying it down on the tiled floor. Now in his tank top, he rested on the worn fabric as the android took his legs and held them high.

Gavin’s face slowly regained his olive color and his breath regularized through his parted and now parched lips.

«Hey... Nines», his chest slowly rose and fell with each sigh, «Say. You think I’d be able to do such a thing?».

As he turned his head on the floor, now Gavin looked at a stall just to avoid the inquiring stare of the android, trying not to think of the fact that said android was still holding him tight, helping him recover. His heart ached as he gritted his teeth, «You think I could turn in such a monster? You think I could be one of them?, pretending to care about you and then suddenly selling you off to the first dealer?».

Nines froze as the realization hit him.

«Gavin...», his words died in his mouth as the detective’s corner of his eyes started to wet and his teeth gritting just became louder.

«I could have done that a few months ago, you know?», Gavin barely held back a sharp inhale, lips curling in repulsion, «Be one of them. Hell, I’m not gonna lie. I need money. Veterinary fees, car insurance, parents’ debts. Think all of this stuff gets paid by itself?». His hands clenched into fists as he couldn’t stop a tear from wetting his hoodie.

«But would I sink that low? What if I can still be one of these people?».

«Maybe... if you’re scared of becoming one of them, it means you deeply don’t want to. Didn’t you think about this?».

Gavin dragged his forearm over his face to cover his eyes, feeling the remaining sweat on him.

«I don’t want to become a monster».

«You won’t», Nines slowly let his legs go and helped him bending them as he sat on the tiles in front of the detective, «The others may say you are unbearable, but I still find you an interesting human and a valuable partner. And no matter what the other people say. I find our interactions quite pleasing when you’re not giving me sassy responses. You could never become a monster».

«Stop saying stuff just to snatch hugs out of me».

Nines gave him Connor’s equivalent of puppy dog eyes.

«Yet someone looks in desperate need of one».

Gavin wiped his eyes, now holding back a smile as he gave him a pissed look.

«You... oversized toaster», he groaned as he felt the android dragging him against his solid frame in a strong embrace, letting the detective now awkwardly sit between his legs, «For phck’s sake, y-You’re squishing me, you damn–».

Nines sighed in his shoulder, snuggling closer to him.

With his ear glued to his chest, Gavin could almost hear the silent whirring of his internal fans and the accelerated beating of his thirium pump. There was a weird glowing barely noticeable coming from his black shirt, and yet feeling those arms around him was reassuring, almost as much as seeing the blue tinting the android’s cheeks once again.

«You better not make it last. I wouldn’t want Sixty walking on us and blackmailing me for the rest of my days».


	4. // PARTITION 4 //

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It would soon be over.  
> They just had to go on a fake date and show that they were a couple.  
> Get the attention of the dealers and then wait for someone to reach out to them.  
> It was just a play pretend with an android who happened to be “ _momentarily_ ” his soulmate.  
> It didn’t have to be **definitive**.
> 
> _“It’s a job, Reed. For phck’s sake”._

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 4 \\\

«What do you mean with “you don’t have any other clothes”?!»

Gavin closed the door of his wardrobe, giving an alarmed look to the android now standing on the doorstep of his bedroom, as Arsehole rubbed his head against his calves, leaving orange fur all over the dark jeans: «You gotta be kidding me, tin can. You can’t seriously tell me you’ve been wearing the same outfit in, _what_ , five months?!».

«I can’t see where’s the problem with that. I’m not human, therefore I don’t sweat. My clothes don’t get dirty cause my skin doesn’t produce any kind of substance like sebum or dead epidermis cells. So there’s absolutely no reason for me to change my clothes periodically».

He leaned on the doorframe as he pretended not to take a full look at the detective, at his bewildered stare as he stopped pondering which short-sleeved hoodie he should be wearing for the fake date they were going on.

For a man so leaned back and nonchalant about everything, he was putting all his effort into choosing the better one.

Nines failed to understand the appeal of both his choices or why the detective was so obsessed with hoodies considering he had a wardrobe full of them, but he wasn’t in any position to judge considering at the moment he was getting his condescending gaze, arms crossed as he got told he was disgusting.

«You tell me to take a shower once a day and clean my clothes and I’ve been standing next to a reeking dumpster that didn’t change his boxers in the last months».

Tilting his head, the android attempted a smirk – _what Gavin by now recognized as his attempt to smile_ , and took a mental snapshot of the current state of the detective, standing shirtless in front of him, olive skin marked by scars here and there, one bullet mark on his left shoulder, a deep and long scar – _probably a knife cut_ , on his hip, and tons of other smaller ones that had probably a story waiting to be told.

«I’m sorry, but no one told me changing clothes was something that would have been expected out of me».

Gavin rolled his eyes and quickly slid his hoodie over his head, covering now the view on his bare chest, unfortunately for the android.

«I thought it would be common sense, but seeing as they didn’t give you any social protocol, I shouldn’t be surprised», he adjusted the fabric on his shoulders, staring at his right wrist now that his soulmark was exposed, for the world to see and for him to angst over it.

He scrolled a hand through his hair, shaking the thought off his mind.

“ _It’s for the mission_ ”.

It would soon be over.

No need to getting worked up over it.

They just had to go on a fake date.

Show that they were a couple.

Get the attention of the dealers and then wait for someone to reach out to them.

It was just a play pretend with an android who happened to be “ _momentarily_ ” his soulmate. He didn’t have to be definitive.

The RK900 was standing in his jacket and high-collared shirt and God, if the way he was looking at him wasn’t killing him on the spot. They had no right to make him so stunning and charming, so goddamn beautiful, as if he had just stepped out his darkest and wettest fantasies.

«You gotta show off the mark for the mission. I don’t see any of this happening is you keep that collar tight like a damn priest and those sleeves never unbuttoned», Gavin gestured at his set-up, avoiding the fact that his comments were making the android quite self-conscious, considering the way his cheeks were gradually turning bluish, «I don’t have anything for you since you’re a damn giant compared to me, but we need to do something about the shirt. And take off that jacket, no one goes on a date in their work clothes unless you’re planning on getting some role-play done later».

Nines frowned as he defensively held the coat: «But it’s my jacket. I like it. It’s difficult to explain but... it’s the only thing that belongs to me. I didn’t have anything else when I left the Cyberlife Tower. I’d be pained to separate from it. And–», his grip on the jacket tightened as his frown deepened, shoulders now as stiff as marble, «I’d feel so exposed without».

Gavin let out a heavy sigh.

Seeing Nines so vulnerable, often made him forget he was talking to a military-grade android, the peak of human technology and the one designed to eradicate deviancy and resist the coldest temperatures of the Artic lands.

The man resembled a defenseless baby penguin with every passing day.

«Fine, let’s just gonna roll this way then», shaking his head, he quickly pulled off the hoodie and took the first shirt he found from the dresser, «If you’re going without your Linus’ security blanket, I’ll go without too».

«W-What–»

«I won’t be wearing my comfort clothes either. This way we can both be insecure messes and suck at this together», adjusting the shirt over his belt, he flattened the wrinkles and made a show off of it.

«Your shirt literally says “ _I have PTSD: Proficient Talent for Sucking Dick_ ”», Nines lifted an eyebrow, tilting his head as he gave a puzzled look to the detective, who now just shrugged his shoulders.

«I just happen to take blowjobs very seriously. Now let’s get you out of that shirt and give a cut to those sleeves».

The android gave him a dumbfounded look as he saw the detective go for the storage room and return holding a sewing machine.

«What are you doing with that?»

«What, Mr. _I have a supercomputer for a brain_ can’t tell by environmental cues?», he dropped the machine on the kitchen table, scaring Princess off the cushion of the chair she was pleasantly sleeping on, and started rummaging through a box of tin, in search of a black spool and some scissors, «You have to show off your mark, so either you roll up your sleeves or you let me take care of it».

He could clearly feel the grief of the android as he spoke.

«What will I wear to work if you cut the sleeves off my shirt»

«You’re always wearing your jacket, people will barely notice»

«Everyone will see the mark»

«They’ll think it’s a tattoo»

«Why can’t you just leave my clothes alone?», Nines sighed, now taking off his jacket, unbuttoning the cuffs and rolling them up to his elbows, revealing his pale forearms, spotted by moles here and there, pristine and milky skin compared to the olive one of the detective, «These are my only belongings and I don’t intend on ruining them. I will go dressed like this».

«You need new clothes though. We go places and you sat on the sofa of a house where they probably phcked on the cushions when you weren’t looking! I don’t want those germs in this home! The mere thought that those jeans could have sat on the same sofa where Hank gets rawed every Sunday morning between a toast and an orange juice makes me cringe»

«How do you know that happened? I believe Connor told me once via interface».

«Apparently, the guy bet he could make me choke on coffee in less than ten seconds. I took the bet and I lost the moment he told me that. I also spitted half my phckin’ _macchiato_ on the floor and had to clean because of your brother slash friend son of a motherboard».

Nines crackled what was a semblance of a chuckle.

«He’s no lesser of an exhibitionist than Sixty. There’s something faulty with the RK800 line, after all»

«That’s why you’re around. You’re better, but you wash less».

«Why do you have to ruin it», he took a heavy sigh, giving him a hard stare, «I still haven’t received my first paycheck. I couldn’t buy anything even if I wanted to. And I refuse to wear what Connor proposed me. They’re all baggy shirts with awful stripy patterns. As much as I care about him, I refuse to wear anything that mixes more than two colors».

Gavin’s expression turned condescending: «Ugh, well, I feel you there, buddy. His fashion sense is worse than the geezer. Guess we gotta go shopping someday and get you some decent stuff. Can’t show up for a date wearing the same outfit every time. No one does that».

He didn’t miss the way the android’s eyes lit up.

«There’s going to be more than one date?».

He bit his tongue, internally cursing himself for that, now stumbling on his words as he pretended to search for a pin inside the sewing kit, «I-I mean–», _God_ he didn’t have an explanation for this, did he?, he didn’t actually imply that he would take seriously what was meant to be as a work-related, undercover job, _did he_?!, «W-We may need to give them the impression we aren’t fakin’ it, right? S-So, y-you know, gotta strike while the iron’s hot, s-shit like that».

Nines’ cheeks flushed even more cerulean as his LED kept spinning in various hues of vivid blue: «Of course. I’d... love to go buy something new even tomorrow. Or today, after our date. Or during our date. It’s Saturday, after all. And I’m positive there’s a way to get refunded for my clothes expenses if you tell the Captain. I promise you I’m not going to pick anything expensive».

Gavin scratched his nape.

He took a pin from the box, trying to hide his embarrassment at the realization that he was indeed going on a date.

«S-say we go tomorrow. I wanted to go to the park today. More than one android recently disappeared in Riverside Park. If you stop the car there, it’s really easy to keep a look at everything going on there without sticking out too much. And it’s gonna be full of people. No one will mind us but those who are interested».

«You seem to know a lot about undercover»

«Been doin’ this job for years. You don’t earn those bags out of coincidence, tin can», he pointed at his eyes and walked to the android, now sticking the pin on the left side of his chest, getting his curious look.

«What’s that?».

Gavin smirked: «Don’t you see? It’s an annoying dog».

«It’s a white Pomeranian. And it doesn’t look annoying to me», Nines tilted his head, studying the thing that was pinned to his black shirt, «Why does my recognition software label it as “ _Annoying dog_ ” as well? I don’t understand, Gavin. It doesn’t make any sense».

Chuckling, the detective gave the pin one last pat, just to make sure it was gonna stay there. It looked good on him, the white contrasting the black of his shirt.

_Not that he was gonna tell him_.

«It’s an old thing, don’t question it».

He fetched the car keys from the cabinet and slid into the first pair of shoes he found near the entrance.

«And, I mean, you are annoying».

Nines rolled his eyes, adjusting his collar as he closed the door behind him.

«Takes one to know one».

* * *

It wasn’t until Gavin closed the car door that he realized how jittery he actually was about the whole thing. The music of the radio during their trip was lower than usual, his driving more anxious and the tapping on the steering wheel unstoppable, following the rhythm of his raging thoughts and preoccupations.

By the time he exited the car, his palms were cold and sticky, starting to sweat as he realized he was indeed on a fake date with his _momentary_ soulmate, with the excuse of being undercover, and he had to do all in his might to not look awkward to the eyes of any potential observer.

He hoped he could rely on Nines – _the guy was his partner, after all, whether he liked it or not_ ; but the android looked as confused as the meme of John Travolta from Pulp Fiction.

No wonder he probably didn’t even know what people did on a date.

“Try not to be an asshole all the time, Reed. This is his first date. No matter if it’s fake, the guy probably deserves better than being left forty minutes alone in the bar, waiting for someone that never showed up”.

Gavin scratched his scar and walked up to him, now awkwardly tending his open palm, fighting the blush that was tinting his cheeks, nervousness taking over his body as he fought the urge to retract the hand.

«Stop analyzing. Just take it, tin can».

He could tell that despite his apparent stiffness, there was raw emotion showing on the face of his partner, tension, hesitancy and yet happiness as the android’s fingers slid between his own, a smooth and dry palm now making contact with his sweaty one as their fingers intertwined, matching like pieces of a puzzle.

One quick look was enough to tell that Nines was now beaming like a supernova, the tip of his ears aquamarine as his lips’ corners were now turning in the semblance of his usual grin, his grip a little tight on the detective’s hold but not enough to hurt.

There was no way he was still keeping his skin on.

Gavin could definitely tell his palm was way too smooth to have the same texture of the skin on the forearms. But it wasn’t like he was gonna deny him that.

His wrist hadn’t been hurting for the entire day and considering it all had to do with the high spirits of the android, it was better to keep it this way. After all, the whole skin deal wasn’t creeping him out like he expected to, so he could manage. If the price to pay for that was the timid and constipated grin of the android next to him, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

Nines didn’t have the smile of Connor nor the smirk of Sixty, but yet, here he was, next to him, shining and sparking joy like the happiest person in the world.

All of that just over holding hands.

“ _Oh boy, I’m so creamed_ ”.

This was getting complicated.

If they didn’t have to deal with the whole _Mauve Angel_ ordeal, he would have thought it was all a plan of the Department’s Matchmakers™ Tina and Connor to just get them together because they happened to be soulmates whatever they were in that moment.

He didn’t want to get more involved, but he knew damn too well that they had to be more convincing.

Not even a kid would have believed they were an item just by holding hands.

«Gavin», Nines’ words broke his stream of thoughts, and only now did he realize they’ve been walking side by side, holding hands just like the other couples in the park, but strolling without a destination, «Can we stop for a moment? I’ve never seen Detroit River and I’d love to have a good picture of Ambassador Bridge».

«Uhm, sure. Why not».

They walked to the banister, and as the detective lay the elbows on the iron fencing, he gave a quick look to the android, as his eyelids stopped blinking for a few seconds, probably enough time to take consequent shots of the view.

Gavin took a deep sigh, shaking his head: «And here I thought you wanted to take a selfie or something. If you wanted a picture like that, you could have gone online or on Google Maps, tin can. You’re gonna find plenty of them».

Nines gave him a smooth grin: «We can take a picture together?».

«Ugh, come on, don’t be an ass. Don’t think I cannot tell you’re smiling from ear to ear! Your poker face can fool the others, but not me».

He took out from his pockets his phone, diligently shifting to the front camera to keep in the picture both of them, the bridge, the river, the skyline and apparently his shirt too.

«I can’t wait to have a phone of my own just to set this as a wallpaper», in the hint of a smile, Nines brought the arms around the detective’s stomach, embracing him from behind, despite not being able to cover the obscene writing on the shirt, «I wonder what Connor and Sixty will say of the “ _Proficient Talent for Sucking Dick_ ” part though».

Gavin jolted at the contact as he felt warm arms close around him, but didn’t protest the hug, slightly enjoying the reassuring and positive humming coming from the android’s thirium pump, a silent but still perceivable whirring that vibrated deep from within his chest, under the thin layer of cotton and synthetic fabric of his black shirt.

He cracked a smile at him, as he pressed the button for the snapshot.

«I have a feeling Sixty is gonna fancy the look», he added, laying his head on the android’s chest, quite surprised at how firm yet soft it was. It didn’t feel like plastic at all.

«I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and just assume he’d try to hit on Captain Allen wearing the same outfit», Nines shrugged his shoulders as Gavin turned between his arms to face him, now giving him his all attention.

«Oh. Someone has his hands on some hot gossip. The twink has it for the twunk? That would explain why they’re always sticking together, even during lunch breaks».

«I’m surprised you didn’t suspect a thing», leaning on the railing, Nines basked in the comforting feeling of the entire weight of the human now resting between his arms. The sun was setting but it added on the blissful sensation of being lulled by the warmth.

A quick scan was enough to tell Gavin was relaxing, his stress levels decreasing just like his own and his heartbeat stable as he enjoyed the intimacy and attention and did his best not to give out the fact that he was sniffing his black shirt, probably to understand how couldn’t it smell despite the many months gone without changing it.

«Hm, what can I say. Stickin’ my nose in people’s private lives isn’t my jam. That generally goes under Tina’s jurisdiction. Also, I reckon I was busy doin’ something else in these days»

«I so wonder if you’re talking about me. Am I too much to handle?, keeping you so busy, Gavin?».

Gavin sighed, his breath now on his shirt was really making it hard for Nines not to shiver under the feeling on his skin underneath the fabric. He wished the detective was more aware of the effects he had on him.

Giving him a sarcastic look, Gavin shook his head and snuggled under his chin, closing his eyes and getting all the comfort.

For someone who didn’t know a thing about dates or relationships, that had no social modules or evolved protocols like Connor, Nines still found a way to be a tease and rile him. He often wondered if his acting was the result of his influence or Hank’s ( _or Sixty’s, which was a variable he wasn’t willing to exclude considering his ruthless nature and his verbal finesse_ ).

And no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Gavin felt warm and content between his arms, as they slid lower and now embraced his waist, holding him safe and secured.

The unbuttoned collar of the black shirt revealed some skin and no matter where he looked, there wasn't a spot safe from moles.

He never felt like he belonged somewhere, yet here he was, between the arms of a Terminator, a machine built to destroy and annihilate, that was now clinging to him like a man to his last hope, hands that could crush metal and steel like a hydraulic press that were now regulating their strength enough to carefully hold a feeble, useless human, with the delicacy of a flower.

He wanted to hate it with all his heart.

He didn’t deserve any of that.

That care.

Those attentions.

That unconditional love.

The fact that Nines truly believed in that “ _happiness_ ”.

Oh, to be a naive soul like him.

He sighed louder, as he once again remembered that he wasn’t supposed to enjoy this.

It was an _undercover_ job – _nothing more_. He was doing this to keep up the act. It would all be over soon and the moment Fowler or Hank would call the operation out, he’d return to his miserable life, him, his cats and his drunk nights bitching to Tina about not having a soulmate in the booth of a bar.

Leaning his ear on the android’s chest, he gave a lazy look around the park, scrutinizing his surroundings as he kept up the acting of flirting and enjoying his partner’s company. ~~_He was_~~.

The park looked indeed too crowded to let a mixed couple like them to be minded.

Yet dealers always knew where to look. And he had the impression someone had been staring at them for a while, despite he couldn’t know where that gaze was coming from. His past self would have labeled it as ‘paranoia’, but his experience on the field taught him his gut and instincts rarely betrayed him.

«Let’s grab a seat. All this standin’s got my legs tired».

Nines chuckled.

«You’re just saying this cause you’ve been ditching exercise in the last days»

«Whose fault you think it is», Gavin slouched on a bench nearby, resting his back against the hardwood as the RK900 accommodated next to him, posture stiff and back straight as he looked directly in front of him, blatantly uncomfortable, his hand awkwardly laying between their seats.

Gavin rested his palm over it, biting his lower lips as he scooted closer to him.

«I think someone is watching us», he mouthed with his lips as he faked a smile, focusing his gaze on the android’s eyes as his fingers brushed the hand’s back, lingering over the faux veins before moving onto tickling the wrist, fingertips now hovering over the soulmark, dark as the android’s pupils, «We gotta do something more if we wanna look convincing enough».

Nines’ eyes softened as his LED spun red, working on the implications of his words.

«Only if you’re okay wit̪̋h ̘͂ȋ̝t͙̰͗̆,͂͢ ̥̞͆̅Ga̘̥̐̓v͚̦̦̘̇̑̚i̥̤̇͡n̹͖̙̮̮̈́̔̄͗̕», barely containing his glitching voice, he could only hold back enough from keeping his Software Instabilities pop-ups clouding his vision, now cleared as he took a good shot of the detective’s face, tense but yet already licking his dry lips as his fingertips were now trailing his skin, rough fingers that were uncertainly holding his cheek and stroking it with soothing motions.

There were goosebumps all over Gavin’s skin and his hairy arms were shaking just like his hands.

Nines extended an arm, now reaching for the detective’s nape, delicately cupping it as Gavin slid closer.

“Let’s just get over with this charade, Reed. It’s his first kiss, for phck’s sake. Don’t be _an asshole_ ”.

He licked his lips, eyes half-lidded as he let his grip stay gentle on Nines’ face, feeling the skin underneath retreat in patches under his own touch, leaving blue and cyan halos around the white polymer chassis.

Nines looked stunning, eyes so rapt, just like during their hug.

So close, his eyes almost looked blue and there was no way he wasn’t capturing all of this to his mental brain. He could feel the heated breath coming from his mouth and he felt so stupid to ignore that he was indeed overheating.

He had him in the palm of his hands, Nines was literally dying for him right now.

Gavin sucked in a breath, now tending his lips to brush the android’s, feeling him jolt under his touch, the hands on his nape going rigid as he could feel Nines registering the information he was receiving and the flush of that soft kiss.

«I-I cannot kiss you if you keep your mouth shut, tin can».

He gulped, voice hoarse and cracking like a teenager, as he struggled to meet those silver icy irises, now melting as they looked at him like he was his world, the sun, and the phckin’ Solar System.

Nines was barely containing his heavy blush, thirium pump racing as he met Gavin’s dilated pupils, head slowly tilting and lips slowly parting as he elaborated what was happening. His analysis software was overflowed with information and he didn’t even know what to do with all of these.

He constantly got signals that gave him the detective’s stats, reports on his elevated heartbeat, his signs of nervousness, his red blush creeping up to the point of his ears, the fact that his eyes were lucid out of his emotion, tears forming on the corner of those beautifully verdant irises, the raw tension and feelings that his trembling lips communicated, and the fact that as much as he wanted to appear conflicted, he was barely holding back from keeping his mouth corners from smiling.

The softness of that kiss.

Of Gavin’s lips.

Their taste.

He wanted m̶̳͐o̶̡̼̖͙͐̾͝ͅr̴̡͉̃ͅȅ̸̻̤͌͜.

He w̷̜̣͗a̵̢͗n̴͓̻̍ẗ̷̡́͘e̵͈̓͠d̶̬̲̄ ̶̙͝h̶̞̋̑͜ĭ̸̩͝ṁ̴͕͛.

He so desperately **w̷̢͒ͅả̴̛̹̰͊ņ̶͓̫̈t̶͕̕e̵̗̓d̴̖̏ ̵̛͉͉͜Ǧ̵̡͕̳̄̓a̸̪̒̈́͗v̵͖͐i̸̗͓̮͋͌̊n̶̖̕ ̸̛̪̌͠**.

Nines gently tugged him, this way tilting his head mimicking the same way the detective did, mouth slightly agape as he exhaled a sigh, lips meeting once again Gavin’s, feeling his fingertips going down to the black shirt collar, arms now embracing his neck as he could feel Gavin’s soft tongue sweetly intruding in his mouth, saliva mixing with his analysis fluids and a welcomed heat filling him up.

«Nggh–», Gavin held back a moan, fingers scratching the android’s nape and tickling his hair, grunting as he felt his breath become shorter and Nines greedily continuing the kiss, tongue invading as he dug his mouth with the obvious intention of sampling it all, insatiable, lusty, so unbelievably _hungry_ for him.

«Humpf... N-Nines–», Gavin touched his nape with more insistence, grasping the fabric of the shirt, and it was only when he mouthed “ _air_ ” in the kiss, that the android let go of him, realization hitting him.

And no matter how much he wished he was dreaming– Nines was a phckin’ sight to behold.

His breath was ragged, his chest rising and lowering with every breath, his thirium pump regulator loudly whirring and LED flickering blue and yellow uninterruptedly, and hands that still didn’t want to part with him, now clinging to his shirt and skin with urgency and desperation.

«I̵’̵m̸ ̸s̴o̵r̶r̸y̵,̷ ̶G̷a̷v̵i̸n̷. I forgot that you...».

Gavin held back a gulp, mouth dry even though he could still taste the tasteless flavor of the android’s saliva on his tongue, hating to admit that he was missing already the heat of the kiss. For once in his life, he was short of witty retorts. All his words were lost as his gaze glued, unmovable, from the marvelous sight he was beholding right now, the strongest android on the world, now barely holding himself together because of him, mouth agape and slightly disheveled hair, the uncontainable blue hue all over his face and the fact that his voice was still filled with static.

Oh, to explain to himself why he was poppin’ a chub just by that.

They stared at each other, as an uncomfortable silence stretched between them.

«Do you...», Gavin’s eyes met the android’s silver irises before returning to the view in front of them, admiring the flow of the river and the sparkling of the water under the setting sun, the skyline tinting of dark shades in the distance and the bridge, hoping that his nervous hands would soon stop trembling out of anxiety and emotion, «Y-You want to go again? J-just, y’ know, for...».

“ _Please, Reed, shut your phckin’ mouth. You’re making it more awkward!_ ”

Nines bit his lower lip, anticipation making his thirium pump race as he could already taste the detective on his lips, eagerness taking over him.

He shyly nodded, eyes pleading.

«P̝̮̌͐l̜͗e̬̞̩̐̏̒a͈̅s͖͑͛̓͢͢ę̤̋̀ ͕̯̱̈́̎̕d̟̺̕͡ő̮».

Gavin clenched his fists before moving closer and straddling the android’s firm legs, sitting on them as he got a full look of his blushing face, features softening as Nines’ panting got harder with each second of prolonged distance between their mouths.

«They had no goddamn right to make you so beautiful»

Before Nines could utter his name, he got silenced by his mouth, lips clashing once again, hungrier, in a desperate kiss, as his cheeks and face were held tight by the detective’s raw strength. If this was an attempt at marking him, Gavin was indeed doing so by staining his chassis with his fingerprints, a touch that he very much appreciated, as much as the soulmark that he bore on his right wrist.

Nines closed his eyes, enjoying the kiss, the heat, and the fact that Gavin was doing his best to hold back from humping his tight. No matter how much he tried to ignore it, his software couldn’t avoid picking up the obvious signs of excitement and arousal of the detective, the tightness of his pants, the fact that he could blatantly feel his boner on his thigh, and that his heartbeat came louder than ever to his auditory sensors.

Gavin’s fingers quickly got back to his nape, toying with the few strands of hair there, and those light touches didn’t help him maintain his composure, especially considering how those fingertips were hovering over his back panel, a mere layer of black cotton fabric separating them from his most delicate wires.

If Gavin didn’t hold back and keep his tongue at bay, someone would have soon reported them for obscene acts in public.

Their investigation would have soon been called over. There was a difference between going undercover by playing a part and overachieving.

He should have been the rational one, the _android_ , the one that could arrest all his processes with a command, _yet_ here he was, at the mercy of a human, incapable of thinking straight as he felt a raw tongue clashing inside his mouth once again.

He eagerly sucked on it, snatching a grunted low moan out of him.

«You’re so phckin’ naughty», he heard Gavin growl, now separating from Nines enough to take some air, breaking their kiss for barely seconds before diving in and nipping his neck with bites, «Why you’re so goddamn soft. I thought you said you were all titanium and Kevlar».

Nines exhaled, embracing him tighter and baring his neck even more as he got frenzy just by the ragged feeling of the human’s breath over his skin, kisses left here and there on his neck bones: «What, surprised? You never wanted to know my specifics». He let his hands slowly linger on Gavin’s robust calves, rubbing and caressing them, very much aware that those attentions just made him squirm under his touch.

If someone told him that day was gonna end with them making out in the park and the detective getting an erection in the middle of an undercover mission, he would have never believed them.

«Why do you always have to bring up the techno-babble», Gavin tilted his chin, pressing his lips tight as he fought back a pout.

«Because you have to curse in every sentence you say»

«It’s not phckin’ true».

Nines leaned over, surprising him with a kiss, leaving the detective dumbfounded as he stared back at him.

«W-What was that for?».

«I just feel like I should have the possibility to kiss you shut when you get too verbal»

«Say the one that went from respecting my boundaries to freakin slide his 3 inches tongue down my throat»

«You’re saying this when you did the same exact thing. I learned from the best, Gavin».

Gavin flushed harder, smacking a hand over his face to hide his embarrassment: «I hate you so much, tin can».

Nines chuckled, covering his hand and slowly showing the detective’s face, as he locked their eyes, hand sliding through the brown hair and caressing them.

«I know. Where would I be without you hating me».

Gavin curled on him, resting his chin on the android’s collarbone.

“Hey, I’m serious”, he whispered in his ear, now toying with the hem of his collar, fingers pulling it enough to make the android shiver at the sensation of the fabric rubbing his back panel, “Get a change of clothes. Don’t care if it’s the same three shirts. Just– _you know_. I’m not kicking you out if you wash your clothes with mine, as long as you put the color catcher sheets when you do the washer. Don’t want this beautiful t-shirt to get stained because of your goth aesthetic”.

Nines snuggled in his collarbone, shyly depositing a kiss on the exposed patch of olive skin, timidly chuckling and now enjoying the feeling of the detective’s breath on his ear, lips tickling his helix: «I’ll make sure to take all the precautions, then. I like the smell of your clothes».

One look was enough to assess the situation, to feel Gavin squirm under his ministrations, hug him tightly around his neck and suffocating the scarred nose in his hair, now inhaling his scent, and murmuring “ _phckin’ android_ ” with no bite, legs trembling as he straddled him, barely holding back the fact that he was obviously sporting an erection.

“You’re driving me crazy, tin can”, was what came to his auditory sensor in a whisper.

Nothing more than a murmur, enough to make him shiver at the realization that _yes_ , he was indeed having such an effect on the detective.

Gavin muttered and cursed under his breath, now locking stares with his icy eyes, and stopped torturing his lips for once, deeply inhaling as he leaned towards the android, closed eyelids and mouth agape, as he finally decided to surrender to the moment and go with the flow.

It was only when he ended up kissing the android’s cheek ( _and having to desperate admit to himself that he was aiming for those soft lips_ ) that he realized the RK900 wasn’t looking at him anymore but behind his shoulders, and held in his hand what appeared to be a white volleyball, material so tense that looked mere seconds away from being crushed between his very fingers, skin retracted around the fingertips, revealing cyan pads.

Oh, to not be so riled by that sheer demonstration of strength.

He gulped.

“ _It’s a job, Reed. For phck’s sake_ ”.

He was in no position to roll over the bench and maintain a decent posture, not while popping a boner like this, with his boxers so tight and uncomfortable, wet on the tip, and the fact that he really would have humped Nines if he didn’t have an ounce of respect for the partner and a crumble of dignity left from the week before.

He instead let the hands around the RK900’s neck fall and turned towards the guy that was now running towards them.

«Sorry! My bad!»

Nines tilted his head, now easing the grip on the ball as he offered it back to the young man, scruffy beard and a pair of glasses hanging loosely on his square nose. He seemed short of breath by the time he reached them.

«Sorry, did I hurt you? My girlfriend there has a terrible aim and I’m not the best catcher out there. I hope you’re not injured – _god, it usually happens every time I miss_ ».

Gavin carefully studied him.

Short, Caucasian, approximately thirty years old. He had a soulmark over his wrist.

The way his gaze traveled over Nines’ wrist and then to his own didn’t certainly do a good job at hiding the fact that he seemed way too interested in their marks. Especially considering most people didn’t enjoy prying so much into other’s lives.

«Oh, soulmates, heh?», he said, cracking a smile, now showing off his own mark, «I thought I was the only one engaged to an android! Glad I found a fellow robophiliac!».

«Oh well. You know how it works. One day they steal your job, and the other day they steal your heart», Gavin grinned, easing the grip on the android’s shoulders, now meeting the young man’s hazelnut irises, a radiant smile that hurt to watch just as much as Connor’s whenever he was within a six-feet radius of Hank, «Used to hate ‘em. But life just doesn’t feel the same without these oversized toasters anymore».

«Aw, bud I feel you. My girlfriend there, Jenny?», he pointed with his thumb to the android that was still waiting for him, now insistently checking her holographic clock on the wrist just to silently voice her disapproval, «Gosh, I hated her at first. Like, damn, I was in the anti-android League before the Revolution and now I’m about to marry her. Look how far I’ve come».

Gavin gave him a half-assed smile: «Oh, same. Used to hang with ‘em for a while».

Nines wrinkled his nose.

_False_.

Gavin had been a card-carrying member for years. He left the League only recently. The date matched with when he started being friends with Connor and recuperated his relationship with Lieutenant Anderson.

«Maybe we should go out together sometime. The name’s Chester», Chester held out the hand, now sharing a vigorous handshake with Gavin, «Go on couple dates, and this sorta things. If it’s okay with you, of course! I wouldn’t want to intrude».

«Oh, not at all. We’d love to hang out with a fellow android-human couple as well», Gavin did his best to keep a straight face. He couldn’t believe he was having a conversation with his _possible contact_ while sitting on the motherphckin’ legs of his partner, cause his boner wouldn’t go away like a damn teenager.

Thank God nobody from the department was seeing them.

Tina would have laughed at his ass for years if she had known that.

Chester tilted his head, now staring at Nines: «And what about you? I’ve never seen an android like you before! I feel like you have a familiar face, but I can’t put my finger on it».

Gavin cursed internally, praying to the gods that the RK900’s information and specifics weren’t of public domain. Oh, how idiot of him, to not have thought of a protocol, of what to say in situations like these.

«Are you asking for my model number just like you’d ask a dog for his breed?».

Silence stretched among them as Gavin looked at him deadpanned.

Oh well.

No use worrying about the investigation anymore. Someone probably just sent it south and for once it wasn’t him.

Chester shook his head before laughing it off. «Ah, I see! You could have told me sooner that you’re a prototype! You’re all picky about your serial numbers», at the interrogating stare of the android, he proceeded on shrugging his shoulders, now relieved, «My girlfriend told me it’s improper to ask for it, but I can’t fight my curiosity. I’m sorry, apparently, it’s bad etiquette. She has a prototype friend but he got quite pissed when I asked for his designation as well. But if my knowledge doesn’t trick me, you should be from the RK line».

Gavin smirked, now rolling over the bench, crossing his legs just to make sure nothing was viewable, «Well, well! Tell me, did he get it right?», he turned towards the android, now attempting a wink with both his eyes.

Nines could swear his thirium pump stuttered at that display of total incompetence.

Oh, by rA9, why that human was driving him crazy as well.

«Yes. I’m an RK».

«Well, you sure make a nice couple!», the guy now toyed with the volleyball between his hands, «Hey, if you’re from around here, maybe we can catch up around! I and Jenny always hang out with her friends. She’s a little shy though, so maybe next time we meet, I’ll introduce her to you».

Gavin cracked a smile: «Y-Yeah. Catch you around, Chester».

The guy waved at them as he got back to his girlfriend, launching the ball and punctually missing the aim, now hitting a bench where a woman was feeding ice-cream to her child. Chester was already starting on the litany of excuses, just like he did with them – _and probably with a dozen of precedent unfortunate targets_.

«Are you alright, Gavin?»

Nines’ voice crept through his thoughts as he leaned in, scrutinizing his expression as the detective was now slouching on the bench, hands in his pockets toying with the car keys. Reaching for the back of his shirt, only now did Gavin realize that he wasn’t wearing a hoodie or anything to cover his head.

He was shaking, but Nines could hardly tell if it was due to anxiety or emotion.

«Gavin, are you...».

«I need a coffee».

Nines blinked out of surprise.

«Y-You had one two hours ago. And it’s almost dinner time. It’s gonna mess with your eating schedule».

Gavin frowned, gritting his teeth.

“ _He’s serious. He’s not reciting his part_ ”, he brought a hand over his face, sinking in his palms as he held back a shaking breath, drowning in the realization of what happened before Chester interrupted them, " _Reed. You kissed him and you were into that. He understood that. He’s the most phckin’ intelligent being that ever walked on this planet. He cares. God. Did you see the way he looks at you? Why you’re denying yourself this? Why you don’t want to be hap–_ ”.

He abruptly stood up, taking out the car keys, now clicking and tingling between his rough fingers.

«Gavin? What-»

Nines’ LED spun yellow as he tried to make out the meaning of the detective’s behavior, silence impregnating their conversation as the detective shut down, not saying a word as his eyes failed to make even contact with him.

«We’re going home. I need–»

“ _A hug_ ”

“ _A kiss_ ”

**“** **_You_ ** **”**

«A coffee».

«You’re hurting»

«Shut up».

Nines gritted his teeth, now quickening his pace as the detective walked down the path to the parking lot.

«Gavin! I can feel that you’re hurting. Why do you keep doing this! Gavin!».

Gavin slammed the car door with more energy than intended, the vehicle trembling under the impact, and his fingers were now anxiously tapping the steering wheel, the ruined faux leather lining dug and scratched by his nails over the time, nights of lonely patrols or stakeouts spent talking about their lonely destinies with Tina, anguishing over the fact that all their colleagues were now married or wed to be.

He angrily pulled the seating belt more than once just to feel it block through his palms.

Great. That’s how his day was gonna end.

With his momentary soulmate partner sitting by him, riding shotgun, with a circling red LED that shone more than a freakin’ lighthouse in the night, confused as he had all the rights in this world to be because the person that Fate assigned to him was acting like a dick, being the disaster he was and walking back on everything he did, pretending those feelings were just a cover for the case.

«I̶ ̵a̷m̵ ̷n̵o̴t̸ ̵w̵o̴r̸t̴h̸ ̴i̴t̷».

He sighed, hearing the echo of his own words in his mind.

And he would have believed he thought them out loud if only they weren’t coming from the android’s mouth, eyebrows unrelenting and furrowed as he gave him his hard stare.

«I just replayed what you told me a few days ago», Nines held his jeans’ fabric in his hands, fists stretching it as he eyed Gavin, now slouching against the steering wheel, «I know that you still won’t believe me. But to me, you are _so_ worth it, Gavin. I know that it doesn’t make sense to you, and it doesn’t have to be. But please. Stay alive and cherish yourself. You’re worthy. You’re appreciated».

Shaking, he exhaled a tepid sigh. «Gavin, I... find the molecular composition of your saliva very fascinating. Your DNA is very interesting and your skin is a pleasing texture on my chassis. I’d very much regret if I couldn’t experience all of this ever again».

Gavin scrunched his nose, giving him the most confused looks.

«Am I... doing well?», he asked tentatively, «I mean... motivating you. And flirting».

«For phck’s sake, no. You suck».

Despite that, the pain on his wrist eased as he saw the hint of a smile on the human’s face even though he was shaking his head.

«Well, then I’m obliged to let you know I swallow as well».

Gavin jumped on his seat: «Okay, too much! Who even taught you this?!».

Nines grinned, relaxing against the seat now that he started the engine: «Living under the same roof of Connor and Lieutenant Anderson for months means I was forcedly exposed to all their dirty jokes and teasing. I’m an information hoarder. And since I need an expanded vocabulary, I thought it would never hurt to keep track of it. You never know when something can become useful».

«Ugh, just– _God I cannot believe I’m really saying this_ , but please leave the dirty jokes to me, tin can. You’re giving me a hard time».

«Can’t argue on the hard part»

«What is this, the callout Gavin Reed time?!», the detective blushed to the top of his ears, flushing red just like his shirt, his fingers tapping non-stop on the steering wheel, right hand missing the gear, «You didn’t seem to have any objections about this whole thing when you shove your tongue in my mouth, almost choking me».

«You were into it»

«Oh, and you weren’t?!».

«I–», Nines stalled, thirium pump racing so much he could hear his heartbeat coming from the chest. From the rearview mirror, he could clearly see his blue-tinted face.

«I’m sorry. I’m making it complicated for you, am I? I said I’d respect your boundaries and I’m here walking back on my promise in this very moment».

Gavin brought a knuckle to his mouth, biting it out of nervousness as he kept his eyes on the road, now rushing more than needed towards home.

Feelings were still the elephant in the room.

After all, no matter how much Fate was pushing them together, Gavin was still the one trying to run away. “ _It’s a trial_ ”, he told him. And Nines had to respect his decision and just _carpe diem_ , seize every moment spent with him, ration it, stop deluding himself when every kiss was merely a mean for their investigation.

He should have just enjoyed every morsel of those sweet moments until there were no more crumbles left. He didn’t realize he was dwelling on his thoughts until the car door slammed and he realized he was alone in the car.

Now trailing behind the detective, he caught up with him on the stairs, now watching as he fumbled with the house keys, hands trembling and chest constricting.

«L-Listen Nines, huh», Gavin passed a shaky hand through his wavy hair, mark suddenly burning, «Just don’t think too much about it, okay? Maybe this undercover thing will last longer than we expect. For now, let’s just think about our job».

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! This work may end up getting 7 chapters in the end (but just cause the 7th will be an epilogue). I'm sorry for changing the number of them every time but the ideas keep coming and the moment I write them down the story just gets longer. The next chapter will have more _smooch-y_ stuff, so make sure to subscribe, stay tuned or whatever Ao3 allows to do to keep up with works (as you can see, I know batpoop about how this site works 💙).  
> As always, I strongly invite you to check [aurea-b's profile](https://aurea-b-art.tumblr.com) and give her lots of love! Her amazing art featured and will feature in this fic! 🧡
> 
> See you next week! ( _or maybe earlier... who knows_ 👀)


	5. // PARTITION 5 //

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> «I can’t learn how humans work from someone that drinks more coffee than water. Last time we kissed, the caffeine concentration in your blood was near 600mg. It’s unsafe».  
> «Phck. Is that why you bit my lip?», Gavin smoothed his lower lip, lingering his thumb over the small cut from a few days before, «And here I was getting all worked up cause I thought you wanted to rough it up a little».
> 
> Nines smirked at him.
> 
> «Maybe I was doing that as well»

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 5 \\\

Gavin expected the investigation to last.

After all, undercover operations were never a matter of a few days or weeks.

Of course, working with the impending urge of solving the case as soon as possible wasn’t enough of a good motivator, especially considering most of the time he couldn’t even focus during Fowler’s calls, too rapt by the fact that all of this was becoming something more than a play pretend, something more than a fake relationship to lure in their contact.

The cases regarding mixed couples were increasing in dramatic numbers.

Androids disappearances and kidnappings couldn’t be hidden from the public opinion any longer or labeled as other crimes, and he wasn’t surprised when Tina told him via text that Markus recently stopped by the department to have a private talk with the Captain over the ongoing investigation.

Of course shit hit the fan and the CNN recently started talking about a new illegal trafficking of the “ _Mauve Angel_ ”. And the moment one channel reported it, it was only a matter of time before all the other news broadcasters started talking about it as well, journalists storming the precinct and asking for details, for disclosure of reserved information about the victims and the presumed deaths, about culprits and the effects of the drug.

There was a reasoning, after all, behind Gavin’s refusal to turn on the TV most of the time.

The last time he did, Connor was speaking in front of a bunch of microphones, and it took all his patience not to text him and tell him to get the hell out of there instead of feeding these journalists all their intel.

«God, I miss working on the field», he just rambled as he watched the screen, now changing the channel as he caught a glimpse of Nines returning from the kitchen with a bowl full of croquettes, cats meowing around his steps as he lowered the food for them to eat, «I miss flipping the birdie at that asshole every morning. The plastic prick is out there licking crime scenes while Dream Daddy sits in a corner looking at his ass. At least I can multi-task».

«Multi-task as in investigating _and_ enjoying the view of a good butt at the same time?», Nines teased, crouched and sitting on his heels longer than needed, pretending he found Arsehole’s loud munching on the food way more interesting than the way the detective’s eyes pretended to watch the TV, now tuned to some documentary about lions’ hierarchies.

«Well, you _did_ say looking is fine. No homo. Just a bro looking after his bro’s ass»

«Oh. So we’re... _bros_?, is this what you’re implying, _Detective_?».

Gavin rolled his eyes, now snorting.

«Don’t “ _detective_ ” me. I bet you look at me just as much. I just can’t prove it, unlike you». As he got the android’s amused grin, a hint of smile just like he recently learned to interpret it, he couldn’t hold back a laugh, «What? Think I’m that oblivious?».

Shaking his head, the android sat near him on the couch, now rolling his sleeves back to the elbows, showing his forearms dotted with moles and the irremovable soulmark. His posture got less stiff in the last days – _or so Gavin had told him_ , and the fact that his mark and long fingers were often the objects of his stares weren’t really bad in the RK900’s register, especially considering that the short videos and saved files of Gavin’s timid looks were now piling up in his folders, timidly prying and shyly removing his stare when he realized he was noticed or caught looking.

«No. _Au contraire_ , detective. I picked you cause you’re one of the most skilled people in the department. I never doubted your capacities once in the last times. And I don’t think I ever will», Nines tilted his head, now giving him a wink despite not breaking his stoic expression, «Of course, _no homo_ ».

He wasn’t expecting the detective to break into a laughing fit and give his shoulder a friendly punch – _just to regret it afterward, realizing that punching Kevlar is not a very smart decision™_. Recently, there was a sparkle in Gavin’s jade irises whenever he looked at him, and his mark couldn’t stop tickling and warming his wrist like a tender embrace every time he got these affectionate looks.

Maybe it was the banter.

Or maybe it was because every day he gradually became more enthralled with that human, and the signs of interest, fondness, and tenderness he got in return didn’t help ease his burgeoning feelings of love.

Connor once told him the moment he realized he loved Lieutenant Anderson, he stopped counting the days and the weeks passing by. He remembered telling him it was impossible, considering he could look up at the date at every given moment in his HUD.

But now he understood what he meant.

Time became less and less palpable when he was with Gavin. Lesser of a statistic, a number in his interface, and more of something valuable and precious.

He knew that the undercover mission wouldn’t last forever, especially considering the tones of the last meeting with Captain Fowler over _Zoom_.

His features were stern and a simple link with the live footage of the Department Surveillance Cameras revealed that that day, as much as the previous ones, there was a hoard of journalists waiting outside and demanding for a press conference. Officer Miller was sent to disperse the crowd along with Officer Chen, but it was obvious the situation was a ticking bomb and could explode at any given moment.

«I need intel as soon as possible. I don’t want the fuckin’ FBI to stick their noses in here just like last time and remove us from the investigation!»

Gavin could hear Fowler’s shouting over the tablet even from the kitchen, and it didn’t help that by the time he sat at the table near the android, he had his stubble dirtied with mayonnaise.

«Uhm, listen Capt’n, we’re doing everything we need to do and we’re onto something. The Chester guy?, he’s probably our contact. He’s been tailing us in the last two weeks wherever we went. Kinda sus, if you ask me».

The captain scowled at his words, especially now that Reed insisted on munching on the sandwich and sucking the sauce off his greasy thumbs, involuntarily making a display for the android near him, that was way _too_ into that show, LED circling yellow as he stared with lips ajar at the way the detective’s mouth sucked into the fingers, tongue making a perfect job at cleaning them.

«Nines».

He often wondered how those fingers would have felt inside him. Maybe wonderful. They seemed to handle the cats with so much care, that he didn’t doubt for a second Gavin would have put the same care in handling his wires, _if only there were the conditions to_.

«RK900!»

Nines jolted, now meeting the exasperated look of the Captain.

Well, so much for being _the pinnacle of Cyberlife_.

«I’m sorry for spacing out, Captain. I was elaborating our findings».

_Smooth_.

Fowler’s face looked like he didn’t buy the excuse. Which made Nines hope he was a better liar, just like his predecessors.

«Let me fill in for detective Reed. We dug the databases for information on Chester Smith. So long, he has no legal precedents nor he’s a documented substance abuser. He has no vices, he doesn’t gamble nor has pending denounces, and has a stable job as a bank accountant. We suspect this could tie to the fact that he knows how to recycle the money made out of the Mauve Angel market. Maybe there’s a chain of inside contacts in the society he works for».

Despite the Captain seemed content with their results, he still urged them to get more information as soon as possible – _and avoiding frolicking_.

Which... wasn’t easy per sé.

As the weeks passed by, Nines couldn’t help but notice an awful increase in the numbers of coffee cups disseminated throughout the entire house. There were discarded paper cups on the low table by the couch, and he woke up from his stasis in the middle of the night more than once to the detective dragging his bare feet to the kitchen, heavy eye bags as he wandered in the dark just to fetch from the cabinets something edible.

And he would have been a hypocrite if he said he wasn’t enjoying the job in the least.

Their undercover required that they went on dates and lived as a couple all the time.

No matter where they went, it had to be done together.

And so long, his life had been amazingly interesting.

The day after their first date, Gavin made good on his promise to bring him to buy some clothes, and despite he could deduct them from the Department’s expenses, he decided to call it a present, despite he refused to meet his eyes the moment he said that.

They left the store with a hoard of black clothes, a pair of turtlenecks, some shirts and pants, and a white coat for a change. Gavin showed him how to do the washer and instructed him on all the basic stuff that came with the AX400 models but that a prototype such as him wasn’t built for. He still didn’t demand that he did the laundry – _Gavin still made sure all the tasks were shared and evenly split since he didn’t want to give up on his independence because of a toaster_.

And after a while, no matter which local or park they visited in Detroit, they always ended up awkwardly meeting with Chester and Jenny.

Gavin was running out of proposals after sixty days and it was undeniable that they were setting into some kind of routine after all the time spent together.

What started as an undercover job, was slightly becoming their every day, and Nines himself was surprised they reached a point where the detective didn’t mind if he went on stasis on their couch and sometimes leaned onto him as they watched some replicas of old TV shows, or if he hugged him from behind, burying his nose in Gavin’s shoulder just to seek some comfort and warmth.

He made sure to never kiss him when they weren’t on their dates.

But he couldn’t hold back his surprise when Gavin often tugged him down just to kiss him the moment they were outside their ( _?_ ) house, under possible scrutiny.

«Maybe we should go to a restaurant, tonight. Y’ know, just for a change. After all, the Department is paying and it’s been so long since I last had a gourmet dinner or something that went beyond the _edibleness_ ».

When the android lifted his gaze from the book he was reading, Gavin could see from a mile he was about to be hit with all his sass.

«I’m getting the impression you’re currently implying that I’m not a decent cook».

«Listen, I love your lasagna and your pot roast, your scrambled eggs are amazing, omelet and pancakes are good in my register too – _seriously they’re mouth-watering_ , but I can’t live off eggs. I’m gonna turn into a chicken if I keep up this diet»

«There is no scientific evidence of humans turning into animals because of their diet»

«Someone became orange for eating too many carrots, look it up if you don’t believe me», Gavin crossed his arms, now proudly raising his chin, «You need to learn how humans work, _tin can_ ».

There was again that nickname spoken affectionately.

No longer a slur or an insult, not derogatory as it used to be towards Connor or Sixty. The way the detective appealed to him was always borderline flirting, body language and arousal that spoke of his attraction and progressive endearment with every word and gesture.

Nines lowered the book, shaking his head: «I can’t learn how humans work from someone that drinks more coffee than water. Last time we kissed, the caffeine concentration in your blood was near 600mg. It’s unsafe».

«Phck. Is that why you bit my lip?», Gavin smoothed his lower lip, lingering his thumb over the small cut from a few days before, «And here I was getting all worked up cause I thought you wanted to rough it up a little».

«Maybe I was doing that _as well_ », the android smirked at him, now standing up, «After all, you always find ways to surprise me. It would be unfair on my side, not trying to keep up with my favorite human, wouldn’t you think?».

He stowed the book he was reading back into the library – _another classic by Philip K. Dick_.

For a former android hater, Gavin sure was an avid reader of science fiction. He had tons of books stacked on the shelves that varied from Isaac Asimov to Philip K Dick, old and treasured editions of the entire Cycle of Foundation, Robot Dreams, I, Robot, and all the minor books from Dick as well.

Pondering which book he should proceed on re-reading next, he couldn’t hold back his surprise when he felt Gavin’s arms embracing him from behind, his ear now resting on the soft fabric of his black turtleneck, leaning on his back and listening to the whirring of his internal fans and the increased beating of his thirium pump.

«Why you’re so warm. I thought you androids were supposed to be cold».

Nines curled his lips in a semblance of a grin, now resting one hand over the detective’s calloused and rough knuckles: «My core temperature is always higher when I’m around you. Can’t help it».

Gavin wrinkled his nose, burying his head into the android’s sturdy back, accommodated by the curve of his titanium spine: «You’re such a phckin’ sap».

The restaurant was only the tip of the iceberg.

In the end, it was all a ruse to let Nines experience android-oriented food for the first time and ask about his preference with the excuse of making conversation.

Once again, that date wasn’t listed on the Department expenses, despite what Gavin told him.

And whilst their date without Chester and Jenny showing up was a very welcomed diversion, he wasn’t expecting Gavin to seek his hand out so much during their dinner, to look at him constantly and blushing to the tip of his ears despite not having an ounce of alcohol in his blood.

To ask so insistently if he liked a certain flavor, if he could taste it the way a human would, if he preferred the strawberry or the pineapple flavored thirium soda, questions that seemed to lead nowhere until the day after when he returned from the store with two bags full of android-edible snacks and drinks.

Before he knew it, August was almost there.

The cases stopped rising as Chester showed up everywhere they went.

There was no hiding that he was tailing them. He probably did his research on Gavin, to know he was worth the shot given his anti-android past into the League and the fact that all the information about him being a police officer were now hidden by public archives and records, as he now resulted as self-employed as a writer.

The investment of the couple in their case was probably due to the fact that so long, RK900 was the only prototype that they could aim for.

Markus was a dangerous target, Sixty didn’t have a soulmate and the strong bond between Connor and Lieutenant Anderson would rule out any possibility of him selling him off to the dealers.

But Sixty was behind the identity crafting for Gavin, and he made sure to make him look as ominous as he could. His membership of the former Anti-android League had been forged to make it look like he killed several androids protesting peacefully during the agitations prior to the Revolution back in November and that he relentlessly murdered un-deviated androids and set them on fire out of a bet.

His bank account had been hacked to make him look in desperate need of money.

It was an easy job for an infiltration unit like Sixty, nothing that he couldn’t handle – _especially since it meant hacking into the police database and breaking all the rules he wasn’t usually allowed to break_ , and he took a certain pleasure in concluding their text exchange by telling Gavin: “Here, now you’re scum :))”.

Gavin’s touch-starved behaviors popped up with every passing day, and it was now consuetude that during their strolls, he wouldn’t leave his arm, or would offer his own for first. It couldn’t help but send his fans whirring, cheeks blushing teal as he expressed through his body language what his smile could never convey.

Gavin had stories to tell.

Stories he couldn’t tell undercover but that he still shared in his insomniac nights as they sat on the couch, like when he told him he and officer Chen pranked Fowler when they were beat cops, and toilet-papered his car out of a bet, or when he switched the department’s sugar bowl content with salt ( _that’s how Officer Person came to hate him_ ).

Some stories were told in the middle of the night and Nines loved to listen to each of them.

Gavin sat next to him, sipping from a warm cup of chocolate, and more than once he fell asleep on his shoulder or with the head resting on his lap, rambling about his times at the Academy, his friendship with Tina, and recently even the years he used to get along with Lieutenant Anderson and he almost considered him his mentor.

«Before the entire... _thing_. His son and his divorce...», he often said gesturing his hand at mid-air, looking at him while lying flat on his lap, head on the android’s thighs as his feet rested on the armrest, cats snuggling on the blanket over his body, «Things weren’t always like this. Me and Hank... we were friends. I mean, he was my role model, even if I don’t like to give that impression. God, Connor still doesn’t know that. He probably thinks I’ve always hated Hank cause he’s got the rank I’ll never get. But, hey Hank was an amazing cop. God, everyone looked up to him. I wanted to be in his squad. I mean– he kinda let me in. The whole Red Ice thing. I was there. Not formally. But he let me give him a hand. I remember I was often at his place to help him with the case. He was already divorced back there, but the kid was fine».

Gavin’s hands always trembled, words stumbling on short sentences and long pauses as he thought how much he should be opening up. Nines just stood there, hands between his wavy hair, caressing them, reassuring him of his lack of judgment.

Just there to listen to him.

«Gosh, I never got to tell him I was sorry for what happened. I just raged at him and gave him a punch in the stomach the moment I found out he turned to alcohol and nearly killed himself».

Nines had been massaging his scalp the entire time, but the detective didn’t say a thing, resting with closed eyes in the feeling, as he felt his finger’s skin peel off to reveal the chassis. The feeling of plastic and polymer-chassis was different, but was still a welcoming sensation, especially because his finger pads emanated a reassuring blue hue, soft just as much as the dim light coming from the living room lamp, shining in the dark coming from outside.

The marked hand was resting on the detective’s stomach, but it was a welcoming weight as it raised with every breath taken.

«What about Connor?»

«What about him?»

«I mean. Why have you decided to become his friend?».

Gavin smirked, now slowly sitting up, just to give enough time for the cats to accommodate somewhere else.

«Are you jealous, tin can?», he was blatantly studying him, and maybe it was because of their time spent together, but Gavin could tell by the sudden sting he felt on his wrist that he wasn’t that far off the truth, «Well, ain’t that a surprise. Do you really think I’m gonna get the hots for him when I’ve got the real deal here?»

Nines blushed, lips pursed tight.

«Aw, come on, tin can», Gavin teased, now booping him on the nose, «Don’t tell me that the most advanced prototype ever created is jealous of his predecessor RK800».

«Stop it»

«Come on, it’s funny. You’re jealous of a twink!»

«I–», Nines grit his teeth, now elaborating on his words, «I’m simply saying that we have the same face and it’s been troubling me for a while».

«Oh, come on, there’s more to you and the plastic prick than your face. And you’re prettier».

Nines jolted, eyes squinting: «I am?».

«Not saying it again»

«Worry not, I have it saved in my memory bank. I’m making a backup now, just to make sure nothing goes to waste»

«Ugh, why you’re always recording all the shit I do».

Nines’ lips curved into a grin as his fingers lingered over the detective’s nose and the visible scar, now smoothing the mouth corners and forcing them into a smile: «There, there. Now you’re prettier as well».

«That’s gay, Nines»

Nines faked a cough, tilting his head, words spitting sarcasm: «Oh no. Fellas, is it gay to smile?».

«You’re an asshole»

«And, once again, I learned from the best».

Gavin held his hands, now giving him his unconditioned attention. There was an awkward silence as they stared at each other.

«Uhm, I don’t think I’ve ever asked but... what happens when you’re sleeping?».

Nines’ skin retracted around the detective’s fingertips, revealing the chassis around blue halos. If this reaction initially surprised him and made him retract his grip, now Gavin became so used he didn’t even care about it – _he found it quite attractive, but it was something he wasn’t ready to tell the android yet_.

«It’s called _stasis_. When I do that, I spend my time reorganizing the information collected during the day and clear the cache from useless files. I need to be operative at peak functionality. Sometimes I receive new updates from Cyberlife, but it takes a while to adapt them to my operating system, considering nothing will be ever made specifically for me. I may–»

«Yeah, yeah. And do you have to sit for it?».

Nines raised his brows, giving him a look of surprise.

«Sorry?».

Gavin had already left his hands and his gesticulation got worse, just as it always did whenever he got anxious: «I mean, _you_... say you can lie down. Warm and–».

He bit his tongue in mid-sentence and cursed under his breath as he quickly stood up from the couch.

«Phck. Uhm, never mind. Pretend I didn’t say anything. G’night».

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this chapter was a little shorter than the others, I promise that I'll make up for it for the next update on **this Friday!** I currently have to deal with a bunch of exams (winter session is the worst ;_;) and since the next update is gonna be huge and smutty, I didn't want to dump more than 10k at once. I hope you still enjoyed this chapter and are going to stay tuned for the next one in a few days! I can't thank all of you enough for all the nice words, comments, for the bookmarks and kudos. It means a lot to me and I know I'm repeating myself but it's really a strong validation.  
> Thank you, thank you, thank you!  
> See you soon!! Next chapter will also feature a lovely piece of art ;'D


	6. // PARTITION 6 //

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin has to face his feelings for Nines, but it's not as easy as it looks.  
> Luckily, Nines is there to help and guide him through them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally got to the _NSFW part_ of the fic! But beware, cause the story is still far from being over!  
> This chapter features an amazing piece of art from aurea-b so, as always, please check out [her lovely works!!](https://aurea-b-art.tumblr.com)

# Accident

#### // PARTITION 6 //

As Connor once told him when he confided to him, they couldn’t beat around the bush for too long. By mid-August, they ran out of places to go and there was no sign of Chester approaching Gavin for the awaited proposal.

Which didn’t help with dealing with the Captain’s mood.

If the kidnappings were now stabilized over time, it was blatant that their occasion was about to show up, just like the calm before the storm. The _Mauve Angel_ trafficking showed no signs of halting, but such a long waiting could only be justified by the fact that the ringleader must have thought a prototype’s blood was really worth the wait, and the more it stewed in love and affection, the better it was.

«Uhm, I was thinking, maybe tonight we should go for a change?»

Gavin’s hands were tapping on the steering wheel as he drove through the highway.

It was past ten, an unusual hour for them to be out, but it wasn’t anything Nines would have questioned. He enjoyed sitting in the car and seeing places, considering he didn’t see anything but the Cyberlife Tower and Connor and Lieutenant Anderson’s house for his first five months of life.

Gavin showed him what _being alive_ meant.

As they traveled outside of Detroit, the detective wouldn’t stop checking the night sky and obsessively ask for the time.

«If you look up on the Internet for anything before we get there, I’m gonna kill you, tin can»

Nines sighed, giving him an affectionate look, car lighting in the dim blue hue of his LED: «Your death threats are always well-intentioned. But worry not, I won’t».

He silently waited, enjoying the ride and the noise of the car engine in the background, as the radio played the detective’s favorite songs all over again, a playlist that he very much knew after almost four months together.

As he caught a glimpse of Gavin’s hand resting on the gear, he rested his palm over it, now covering the calloused and rough knuckles, internal fans whirring when he realized Gavin’s fingers just opened to accommodate the android’s, soon after followed by a sharp inhale.

They didn’t talk about the case.

They didn’t talk about anything.

In the silence filled by the music, Gavin drove outside Detroit and parked in the first free spot he found in the countryside, where the lights of the city were distant and the night sky stunningly amazing.

«We’re here».

He clenched his fingers around the android’s. Killing the engine, he turned the headlamps off, music fading in silence. In front of them, there was only the breathtaking cloudless night sky, the shining firmament, and the distant, almost impalpable lights of the city.

Nines didn’t need his elaborate software to pick the quickening heartbeat of the detective, the way it was racing in his chest, palpitations elevated – _110 bpm_ , and lower lip trembling out of anxiety, now tortured with every internal bite on the flesh.

As they exited the car, he looked around him.

They were 45 minutes away from ~~their~~ Gavin’s apartment.

He didn’t dare ask for explanations until he saw the detective appear behind him holding a plaid blanket in a tartan pattern between his arms, now crouching and laying it on the dirt and grass.

Straightening the edges, Gavin comfortably sat in the middle of it and patted next to him, gesturing to the android in an invite to accommodate.

«What is this?», slowly sitting and crossing his legs next to him, Nines leaned his head on the detective’s the moment he felt him scooting closer to rest the chin on his shoulder, fingers searching for his once again in the dark, when no one could see the fragility of his confidence and the fear of loving and being loved.

«I thought... that maybe you would have liked to see the meteor shower», Gavin scratched his nape, blushing at the realization that his marked hand was now being held by the android and that he was the subject of his undivided attention, glacial eyes melting in his verdant ones, green as the blossoming leaves in spring, as they looked at him in unconditional adoration.

He inhaled a sharp breath, tears pricking at his eyes when he realized that Nines was gazing at him with love and that there was happiness and caring in the way he stared at him.

“ _Gavin_ ”, his name sounded so honeyed and pregnant with adoring love in the way it escaped his stern lips, desperate as the android’s fingers reached for his face, caressing the olive skin and shaking, grazing his stubble and feeling the hairs under the cyan glowing pads.

In the silence of the night, all Gavin could hear right now was the android’s sighing, the way he heavy breathed to cool down, frowning as his thumb now collected a tear from the detective’s corner of the eye and quickly licked it off from his very hand, DNA information now flooding his data banks, confirming once again that all of that was _Gavin_.

And no matter how many dates they already went on, how many kisses they shared and moments of intimacy they had –everything still felt so raw to the detective, and his stubborn heart wouldn’t stop racing whenever he met Nines’ yearning gaze, filled with expectation, blown and dark pupils that were probably recording each of his stares, of his actions, of his expressions, eyes that were now tenderly looking and lusting for him.

Nines’ lips were agape, and as Gavin saw him tilting his head, _desperate_ for a kiss, he couldn’t hold back anymore the desire to satisfy him once more, just like he did in the previous months, tenderly sucking on the android’s lips and with no hassle as their mouths matched and Gavin’s hands reached for his ears, massaging them and toying with the helix, content with the ragged breath he just snatched from him.

Nines’ tongue was warm as his analysis ( _and hopefully sterile_ ) fluid filled his mouth, digging and exploring, sucking as his hands, no longer shy, traveled through his body and hugged him, clenching the fabric of the t-shirt he was wearing, holding him in a strong embrace as they sought for more, _more_ , m̸͔̯̰̝̬̿̈̉o̸̫̳̟͍̊r̷̛̗̱̺͉̃̐̔̂e̶͈̦̹͔̺͒ ̴̭̻̳̻̋̐̌͘ of his heat, m̸̟̅o̴̹̿ȑ̷̮e̷̡͊ ̵͉̅ of his warmth, m̶o̷r̶e̵ ̷ of their closeness.

Nines held back a whimper as he felt Gavin break the kiss.

He insistently jumped on his lap and clashed their mouths so harshly he ended up hitting the detective’s teeth.

What he didn’t expect though was for him to laugh in his face.

«Chill, big boy. ‘m not going anywhere».

Gavin was a mess, his hair disheveled and his cheeks flushed. He was biting his lip, and his hands were now traveling through Nines’ frame, from the black collar of the shirt to the firm chest, smoothing the fabric in circular motions, gentle attentions that didn’t ease his burning desire nor the fact that for once he was struggling to keep it _rational_.

He wanted.

W̶̬͒͠ă̸͖̇n̷͙͌t̷̖͊͋ͅe̸͍̽͘d̶͍͗̄.

Wanted beyond reasonability, as much as the detective wanted him now that his kisses were peppering his covered neck, his rough fingers tracing his pale complexion, dusted with moles and now revealing the chassis underneath, quivering beneath his ministrations.

«Take a look at the sky, Nines».

The android turned, holding back his disappointment at the change of mood as he gave the firmament his attention, still content in being held by the detective’s arms around his waist, straddling his lap and feeling the human’s breath on his faux skin.

The purple and dark blue hues of the sky were the prettiest thing he’d ever seen and he didn’t expect to see a meteor passing by the moment the detective told him to look, screaming: «Shooting star!».

Now pointing at the meteor crossing the sky, leaving behind it a greenish hue that quite resembled the tints of an emerald, Gavin raised his voice once again: «Quick, make a wish!».

«A wish?».

Gavin leaned his head against his chest, snuggling under his chin.

«Gotta make a wish every time you see a shooting star, tin can! That’s why people love them».

«And do they grant androids’ wishes as well?»

«Well, I never heard of racist shooting stars», he double winked at him, and grinned satisfied with himself as he saw Nines blush at his incapacity, «Though there’s only one way to find out».

Nines chuckled, now staring directly into the detective’s eyes, barely opening his mouth to speak, jolting as he felt Gavin’s index shushing him, finger touching his lips and keeping them ajar: «Hush. No telling or it won’t become true».

Leaning into him, they locked stares as their mouths met again, kiss gentle and soft, Gavin pushing against him until he made the android collapse on the blanket, now sprayed under him with what looked like a sketched smile, as much as his mouth corners allowed him to.

Laying on the soft fabric, Nines enjoyed the sight of the detective towering among him despite his short stature, mouth panting and legs close to his long ones, closeness keeping his spirits way too high, riling him up as his wires tickled and itched at the idea of his desires so close to become a reality.

Gavin lowered on him, straddling his hips as his lips zeroed on his once again, kissing him tenderly, sucking on the upper lip until the skin receded and then proceeding on the lower one, tongue intruding and insinuating between his teeth as his mouth closed into his, sucking on it, eagerly tasting his oral fluids as the detective’s fingers were all over his hair, disheveling them, mouth humming in the kiss as Nines just took it all, motions stiff as he rigidly put his hands between the human’s wavy hair as well, just f̷̺̐e̵̛͖ë̶̫́l̷͍̄i̸̳͑n̸̹͘g̶̹̃.

He kept his eyelids ajar, enough to focus on the detective’s face, the scar that crossed his nose, the dimly illuminated expression as he stood over him and the background with the dark purple sky and the shining stars, meteors falling just to grant him a wish.

His hands traveled from the hair to the stubble and Gavin cracked a moan when he felt Nines scratch his beard with his bare fingers, plastic and polymer chassis mapping the jaw and slowly sliding towards the neck, toying with the hem of his shirt.

«A-ah... N-Nines», Gavin whimpered and he couldn’t hold back a grunt as the android tilted his hip enough to press against the detective’s growing erection, now obviously hardening as the kiss became sloppier with every passing second, saliva dripping from his lips as Nines greedily sucked on his tongue, mirroring his actions and feasting on the data he was getting in that moment, content with the way Gavin’s palms were now reaching for him, reciprocating all the affection and fumbling with the buttons of his shirt’s collar.

«G̷̻̐a̴̬͛v̸͎͐i̸̝͒n̴̝̿», Nines broke the kiss, voice glitching as he gave him a much-needed break to breath, admiring the way Gavin’s lips now glistened under the stars, reddish and swollen as they complemented his disheveled hair and his full gaze, pupils black as they looked at him in sheer desire and lust.

«Want you», Gavin spoke frantically, hands closed in fists and trembling, clenching at the fabric of the android’s shirt as his blush spread all over his face, contrasting RK900’s cyan. He laid a palm over his thirium pump regulator, admiring once again the dim blue light coming from beneath the shirt, «God, I want you so bad, Nines. Do you...».

Nines stared at him dumbfounded, for once speechless in front of such a heartfelt confession, so fragile and brittle, feeling like the detective could fall apart just by it, porcelain between his fingers.

He frowned, his marked hand delicate as his knuckles tended and reached for his face, palms now cupping the cheeks and barely holding back a shiver.

«Yes», he trembled, now letting out a deep and shaky warm breath from his lips, «Always did. Always will».

Gavin grunted as he fumbled with more difficulty with his shirt, cursing under his breath about the collar that wouldn’t unbutton, hands shaking and eyes watering with emotion, muttering swears and “ _phcks_ ” until the android reached for his fingers and guided them in the motion to bare his neck.

«Here», showing now his neck and the freckled collarbones, he didn’t object as Gavin opened up the buttons down to his chest, baring it to reveal the pale skin and the blue circle where it laid his thirium pump regulator.

Licking his swollen lips, Gavin lowered to pepper with kisses his neck, content with feeling the android trembling as he gave himself up, completely at his mercy, well conscious that the detective’s hands were all over the place, touching his torso, sliding over the fabric of his shirt as he rocked his pelvis against his pants.

Looking at his HUD, he couldn’t ignore the fact that Gavin’s palpitations were increasing, that his breath was more ragged and he looked desperate as he reached for his mouth once again, body talking when the heart couldn’t, lusting for closeness and affection.

“ _Will it l̸a̶s̶t̴?_ ”.

Nines held back a whine, shutting his eyes as he kissed Gavin, lips clashing once again, the detective’s stubble now tickling the receding skin on his face, baring the white chassis underneath.

“ _Or will he d̷̬͕̍i̷͓̱̊̆t̸̬͐c̶̺͓̽͌ḧ̸͕́͗͜ ̵̣̘̒y̷͓͍͠o̸̲̎ư̵͚̼̈́ ̴̰͇̈́̌ once the investigation is done?, just like Cyberlife did?_ ”.

He frowned, hands clenching the blanket as his internal fans kicked in, doubts piling in his mind with every passing second, warnings crowding and flooding his HUD and coloring his vision of red, just like the old walls of his programming.

“ _What if he’s p̷̘͕̌͑r̴̢̦͂̽è̷̪̤t̴̜̯͠e̴̙̮͝n̴̖̖͋d̷͉̥͛i̸͚̘̽n̶̯͛͜g̶̨̛?_ ”

His grip tightened when he realized he was holding on to Gavin’s shirt.

A warning on his HUD just informed him his thirium pump stuttered and as he felt a growing pit in his chest, he couldn’t fight back the growing pain in his pump, as he felt the tears he couldn’t shed starting to choke him, a desperate need for sobbing that was now taking away his air.

“ _What if he’s just u̷s̴i̸n̶g̷ ̶y̵o̸u̴ ̷for sex?_ ”.

“ _H̸e̴’̵s̸ ̵n̸o̷t̴ ̸w̶o̷r̴t̸h̸ ̵y̵o̷u̴,̷ ̶R̴K̸9̵0̶0̷_ ”

“ _Y̶̺̳̜̔͝ò̵̭̯̣̻̗̓̌͋͊u̶̼͂͐ ̴̭̿͒ḓ̸̖͙̯͒ͅo̷̼͕̍͋͆̎́ ̸͓͕̿̈́̓͘ñ̸͈̏̕o̷̢̻͍͓͌̈́̉̃̄t̵̠̤̎ͅ ̴̯̏͌͛͝ **W̸̧̢̋̔̍͑̚A̸̛͕̖̻͂̓̈̆Ṋ̷̺͎̔͒̀͝T̷̡̜̤͆̋̽̄**_ ”

Nines startled, body acting before his mind, and in a quick motion, he suddenly pushed Gavin away, not even realizing that the detective had been unaware of what happened as their kiss broke, leaving the both of them dumbfounded.

If Nines’ red LED wasn’t enough of a red flag, now Gavin’s hurting and burning wrist was enough of a cue that something was definitely wrong, black ink even more vivid on his skin as the soreness that tormented him in their first days together returned to hit him, scorching as hot iron.

«Nines? H-Hey, Nines are you okay?», Gavin waved a hand in front of him, worried as he saw his red LED never ceasing to spin and the mark hurting more with every passing second. He shook the android, now agitating his shoulders, «Phck, Nines! Nines!».

Nines snapped out of his frozen state, brows furrowing as he trembled, fingers shaking as the holographic layer of skin reappeared over it, holding his opened black shirt closed, shoulders stiff as he could feel his mind near to fall into pieces.

«Gavin, what is going to happen after?».

Gavin brought him there because he wanted to.

This had nothing to do with the investigation.

Just another night where Chester didn’t tail them.

He indeed asked him to keep his signal off, but just so he couldn’t look up what they were doing. And even if they had little coverage in that zone, that didn’t mean anything. They were safe.

W̴͍̗̒è̵͙̌ȓ̸̪ẻ̷͜ ̴̱̙̂t̵̠̭̕ẖ̴͉̐̐ȩ̸̔͘y̵̠͆̋?

«A.. after?», Gavin stuttered as he stared at him, baffled and bewildered as if the ground suddenly had crumbled under his feet, leaving him hanging. Sitting in front of the android, he now failed to meet his icy eyes, pupils dilated as they anxiously scanned the detective’s features just to understand what his silence failed to convey.

Scratching his nape, Gavin just stammered on his words, hands no longer holding him.

«I– _phck_ , why you’re asking now of all the times, Nines».

He was struggling to ignore the light of uncertainty and doubt that was shining in the android’s eyes, brows furrowing as he tried to express the pain that his avoidance brought to him, impending and hanging onto his nape like the sword of Damocles, a judgment that maybe was only being delayed for his sake.

«Maybe because now is the proper moment to ask. After all... I–»

“D̸̖̓́ͅó̸̗n̶̬'̵̖̅͊t̴̜̹͒ ̶̢̲̐͒t̷̠͂h̵͉̟̓i̴̧̲̍n̵̼̈́̄k̵̹̞̉ ̵̭̫̈́͝Ȋ̷̜͍̃ ̶͇̏ĉ̴̨͓̔a̶̞͕͝͠ṅ̴̞ ̶̻͌d̷̙͍ǫ̷̮͠ ̶̰̖̽̅t̸̬͌́ḩ̸̣͗̄ï̸͈ͅs̴͓̜̎ ̸͈̝̇͑a̸̙͗̅ͅn̵̢̺͐y̸̞̹̿̐m̴̝̤̾͐o̵̝̚ŕ̶̜̭e̴̢͙̓̇.̵͈̍̾”

Gavin kept his head down, the tartan motives of the blanket suddenly more interesting than the features he was so fond of, not when Nines he looked at him like that, baring his soul, when months before he even doubted androids had one.

«I thought you trusted me, Nines»

He had to shift the blame. How could he survive that argument when he was blatantly crawling in his cowardice?

And he could tell by the look on his face that Nines was pissed at him, hurt and incredulous, somehow barely containing his rage.

«How can you speak so lightly of ṯ̶̉r̵̰͂̃u̵͈̠̐ś̷̝̩̂ẗ̶̘́̓ ̸̤̊ when in all these months you never wanted to address your feelings at once?».

Voice glitching never meant anything good.

But maybe it was how it was meant to end. Maybe, if he pushed him away now that no one was looking, _now_ that no one could know that maybe they hadn’t been pretending, _maybe_ he could still have a chance and save his face.

“ _Don’t hurt him, Gavin_ ”

«Oh, I’m sorry», he scoffed, ignoring the voice of his conscience, telling him to behave, to hold it in, no matter how hurt his pride felt, «You’re the most advanced prototype ever created, I thought you could understand as much».

«How am I supposed to when you never kiss me when we’re alone or you keep pulling and then immediately pushing me away every time we have a moment?».

“ _Don’t hurt him_ ”

«And it should be my fault?»

“ _Gavin–_ ”

«What are you implying, Gavin»

“ _Don’t–_ ”

«I did tell you it was a trial thing»

Nines pursed his lips as the detective’s words just fell into dead silence, the mute sound of something crackling now filling the air. LED now shining red, it was too late for Gavin to realize the mistake he had just made, as the android quickly stood on his feet, motions stiff as he hastily walked to the car.

«N-Nines I–».

Hearing the car door slam, Gavin huffed, palms covering his itching eyes as he leaned against the car’s bumper, cursing himself for every word said, for his useless pride and his _hybris_ , thinking that he could really escape that curse if he pushed the android away just one last time, for good.

Hands shaking, he palmed his right wrist, teeth clattering as he felt the searing sensation return after months of absence. It was hurting so goddamn much, needles that prickled on his bare skin. And he knew damn well that the louder his _soulmate’s_ heartbeat was, the more intense his wrist would be hurting.

Nines’ thirium pump was beating like crazy, every _thump_ more intense, dropping with the weight of a piano falling from the top of an eight-story apartment. Every heartbeat was a needle puncturing his skin, louder, _louder,_ and _l̴͓̑o̶̼̓u̸̖͋d̶̬͠e̸̛͉r̶̢͗_ , speaking the words that the RK900 way too often held back, buried in the back of his mind.

He balled his left hand around the wrist, holding it in hope of soothing the unbearable pain and stop the shaking.

The stars wouldn’t stop falling but for once, he felt like the sky was shedding tears for the android’s pain, laughing and condemning the irredeemable inadequacy of the heartless human that dared break his heart.

“ _Nines deserves better than a phcker who cannot even be straight about his feelings for a minute_ ”.

Gavin grasped his t-shirt, body shaking and trembling as he felt the fabric becoming damp with tears that weren’t his anymore. Teeth gritting and jaw clenching, he held his head between the palms at the realization that the pain he was feeling, the burning on the wrist, the tears streaming from his eyes, were just the reflection of Nines’ purest feelings, crying the tears that he wasn’t able to shed.

He sniffed, wiping his nose on the unmarked forearm, uncaring of the fact that snot was now smeared over his skin and stubble.

He knew he looked pathetic, just as much as when he tried to take his own life.

And now, he had the audacity to fall into pieces when he had just dealt the finishing blow to the person that entrusted all himself to him, a phckin’ android that had no one in his life outside of him and his brothers or predecessors or whatever the hell they wanted to call themselves.

He stared at the mark on his right wrist, vision constantly fading with relentless and implacable tears, a cry that wouldn’t stop, no matter how hard he tried to keep his mouth shut and choke the sobbing on his palms. He couldn’t help but feel the overwhelming pain of Nines all over his body, deep to his bones, squeezing his heart in a tightening grip, fierce as every thump became louder and louder in his chest until his tears were an unstoppable river of suffering.

Gavin curled in a ball, cursing himself for the bastard that he was.

God, who was he mocking– _Nines had become his entire world as well_.

And yet, he made him suffer only because he didn’t have the balls to just tell him straight in the face that he didn’t want this to be over. That, _of course_ , he didn’t want all of this to end with the investigation either.

And now here he was, sitting bent and uncomfortable as he held his head between his knees, crying his heart out for an android that was incapable of crying.

Crying _his_ tears.

What was commiserating himself going to do?

He was the one in the wrong.

He hurt Nines.

He owed him an explanation.

Dragging his feet to the car, shoes swiping on the dirt and tiny rocks, he bit his lower lip as he desperately tried to hold back his sobbing, eyes reddening and lucid with the tears he was barely keeping from falling again.

Glowing in the inside of the car, was the dim red light of Nines’ LED as he stared straight into the rearview mirror, eyes unblinking, gaze fixated on his stern reflection and glacial eyes, features reverting to what looked like his expressionless face, back when he first stepped off the manufacturing platform.

When Gavin opened the door and accommodated next to him in the back seats, he could feel the android slightly flinch. His tears were now dried and his skin itched, but the pain on his mark and heart didn’t ease for a second.

«Nines, I...», he bit the intern of his cheek, flesh now bleeding under his bite and fists clenching as he realized he should have tried way more if he wanted to convey his feelings in the right way.

«What am I to you?», Nines held the palms on his thighs, lips quivering, «What is this? Are we still considering this a _trial_? You’re going to ditch me when all of this is over, Gavin?».

Gavin gulped, eyes shining in tears as the android’s voice crackled under the tears his soulmate was now shedding for him.

«I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m afraid, Gavin. I’m s̸c̷a̶r̵e̷d̶. I’m–», a glitch broke his voice, shaking and quivering, hands holding onto the fabric of his jeans, «Gavin I don’t want to be used and thrown away! I don’t want to be abandoned like Cyberlife did, alone to rot into a dumpster! I don’t–».

Gavin frowned, scooting closer as he carefully lifted his hands, desperately trying to comfort him: «What are you saying Nines... why would you think–».

«I was reckless for trusting that you’d change your opinion on our... situation. To think that after five months, you’d think that after all... it was possible. That we could be meant to be and that maybe, even if we had all the odds against us, we were going to be together, because Fate is never wrong. But maybe I was the fool all along. Maybe there’s always a margin for error. You were right».

Nines clenched the fabric as his skin retracted from the fingers revealing the white chassis beneath, gritting his teeth, the taste of the detective’s saliva still lingering on his tongue.

«Statistics aren’t always accurate. There’s always a margin of error. And maybe, we’re that one in a million case. The case where Fate is wrong».

He chuckled, touching his red LED and his skin slowly faded away on his scalp, hair slowly revealing the white and grayish head, the face rigged by tightened seams where the panels connected on his eyes, ears, and on the chin.

His chassis was opaque under the red light and now even the skin on the exposed neck was gone.

«After all. This is who you’ve been assigned to», his eyes glistened in the dark, pupils crimson for an instant as his trembling hands reached for the forehead, a small black triangle and a bar code over the right side of it, «Would you look at me? How pathetic I am? I’m... I’m a machine».

Nines deeply inhaled, desperately trying to regulate his internal temperature.

«I have a bar code. I... I’m a manufactured product. There’s no way you’d be able to fall in love with a machine. What was I thinking? Deviancy must have fried my circuitry».

Gavin grit his teeth, hands clenching as held back tears.

It was the first time he was seeing the android so forlorn and disillusioned, sobbing and trembling, barely holding himself together as his LED never stopped circling red, _red_ , _r̸e̵d̸_.

_Oh God_ , he had to console him.

Nines was amazing, was so pure, gentle, thoughtful. He was the most selfless person he had ever met in a lifetime and all he did, he did it for him.

«S-Someone once told me... humans and androids both run on colored water. That our brains and your entire body run on chemical and electrical impulses. And that maybe», he trembled, fingers reaching out to the android’s knuckles, olive skin meeting white polymer chassis, «M-Maybe if a certain human tried, he could find a way to avoid thinking of his destiny as a disgrace».

Nines reciprocated the hold of the detective, chin slightly tilting.

«And yes. Maybe that android is the most obnoxious being he’s ever met», he quivered as he reached for Nines’ face, tearing up as he saw him lean into his caress, «An asshole that is always forcing him to eat healthily and that drinks strawberry-flavored thirium in fancy pineapple glasses. That sobs watching Hachiko and can lift an entire fridge but won’t move by an inch if a cat rests on his stomach. That tends his bruises even when not asked to. That bites his tongue just to check if his phckin’ blood is healthy. That doubts himself even when he’s the smartest living being that ever walked on Earth. But even despite that».

Gavin smoothed his chin with the thumb, and when he met Nines’ eyes, he could no longer hold back the desire to kiss his grey lips.

«Despite that. I’d...».

He furiously blushed, feeling tears forming in his eyes.

«Phck, stop tearing up, will you? I cannot finish a phckin’ sentence if you cry whenever I speak!»

«What is that you want to tell me, Gavin?», Nines’ fingers tenderly caressed his stubble, turning his face to him, «What do you want?».

Gavin furrowed his brows.

“ _Just say it, coward_ ”.

«I...», he clenched his fingers, shaking under Nines’ inquiring and curious stare, «I want to conclude the trial version. And g-go premium».

«Premium?»

He gulped, the trembling of his hands now stopped by the android’s firm fingers.

«L-Lifetime premium».

Nines gaze softened as Gavin’s teary eyes met his, fingers now cradling his wavy hair, gently humming as he tilted his head, forehead now resting against the detective’s, as he could feel his ragged breath on his chassis, LED circling blue.

«I see»

Placing a kiss on Gavin’s thumb gracing his lips, the android grinned, feeling the finger touching his teeth, assessing the softness of his upper lip, and now smoothing the hard cheeks. Nines closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle caress, the knuckles softly tracing his profile and his nude scalp, the place where his eyebrows would have been, and the serial number on his forehead.

«’m not taking it back», Gavin muttered as his knuckles lingered on the smooth surface of the polymer chassis, a touch so delicate that firmly contrasted the roughness of his fingertips, «Even like this, you’re still beautiful».

Nines let out a feeble exhale, fingers uncertain as the detective scooted even closer to him, the android’s long legs now still, impeding him to move properly in such a cramped space like the backseat of the car.

Gavin inhaled as their eyes met once again, realization dawning on him that there was no more running away from his promise.

After all, it was too late for him to reject his Fate.

Not when he was faced with the dumb grin of the android, the way his cheeks blushed and flushed as the skin slowly reformed over it, mole-studded complexion covering his entire body, now warmer than before.

Reaching out for him, he dumbly smiled back as Nines let their fingers intertwine, palms touching, bare chassis against skin, a silent gesture of love shared in the intimacy of the car, under the sobbing firmament.

«So...».

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, and even if Gavin could tell the android didn’t mind it in the least bit – _being the introvert and silent person he was_ , it was still bugging him, and it was obvious that the RK900 was now picking up on his nervous sweating from the way his palm turned damp and cold.

«So, huh... W-What do we do now. We, huh, we could still watch the stars even though I doubt some more are gonna rain–».

As he felt a pair of lips kissing him shut, he just opened his mouth for them, surrendering to the tenderness of the android’s, warm as they embraced his, tentatively biting his upper lip before gently insinuating the tongue and reclaiming the mouth he grew so used in the last months.

Gavin hummed in pleasure, whimpering in the kiss, inhaling for air as he felt those lips savagely repossess him, hands that slowly let the grip on his fingers go just to climb to his neck, caressing it, retracing the skin’s surface to touch and map its roughness, feeling the nape and curling now the detective’s soft wavy hair around his index fingers.

Nines wasn’t certainly expecting Gavin to climb on his legs and straddle his thighs out of the blue, but he didn’t mind the thing in the least bit.

As their mouths broke apart, the detective now gasping for air, he couldn’t refrain from appreciating the smile of sheer happiness on Gavin’s tired and humid lips, as his fingers toyed with the android’s neck, scratching insistently where the line of his hair started, moles all over the place.

So close to his delicate wires, Nines struggled to hold back a moan when he felt fingers accidentally graze the back panel still hidden by his black shirt, now snatching a surprised look out of him.

«Nines?».

Well, _now that was awkward_.

Gavin proved more than once to be sexually excited from their amorous exchanges, and he had to admit there were situations where he voluntarily teased him to the point of letting him slowly hump his thigh during their kissing sessions.

He never “got his rocks off” – _as lieutenant Anderson would have put it_ , in the past months, and maybe, _just maybe_ , that was also why his wires were aching so much for a touch or a pull.

«I-I’m sorry. I was...», it wasn’t like he was obliged to tell Gavin about it though, right? Accepting his appearance was a thing, but accepting... _that_.

Gavin was studying his expression with diligence, just like he would do with a crime scene, nose scrunched as he just insisted on lingering his index and middle finger over the port, as if he suddenly recognized the seams that were almost invisible to the human eye and barely palpable.

«Is this what the culprit was talking about back then? About... the wires?».

Nines’ fingers tensed, skin retracting and now showing the milky chassis underneath, keeping the detective’s waist steady over his thighs.

«Yes. Those are a very sensitive spot for most androids», he had no other choice than just admit to it.

«So they turn you on?»

«No, the reboot function is elsewhere–»

«I didn’t mean in that way».

As he got sight of the human’s chuckle, he just leaned his head against his sternum, hiding the embarrassment.

«Yes. They do. It’s not the same equivalent of human sexual arousal. It’s more about the mental dimension and the implications of it. Allowing a person to access our wires is usually maintenance-related. Doing so with a partner implies a show of trust. And I cannot deny that sometimes, experiencing strong feelings of desire and affection can lead to an over-flooding of information that needs to compensated by direct stimuli, hence the need to pull or tug them to–».

«Y’ know, you could have told me it’s the equivalent of beating your meat when you’re horny. I wouldn’t have questioned it»

«I seriously doubt beating my meat is going to do much for me, detective»

«Why do you always “ _detective_ ” me when I make some stupid remarks»

«The fact that you’re deeming them “ _stupid_ ” without me telling you, means that you know they are».

Gavin gave him a peck on the cheek, nudging his LED with the tip of his nose: «Mmh, want to do something about it?».

«I’m afraid there’s little to do about it»

«Not about my remarks, idiot».

Nines kissed his neck, showering it with kisses as his fingers slid down the waist and run up again over his body, embracing the detective’s solid build, from the shoulder blades under the thin layer of his t-shirt to the vertebrae and the layer of fat over the ribs, shivering fingers as he almost struggled to hold back the joy and excitation over the realization he could finally explore Gavin to his thirium pump’s content.

Licking his lips, he felt his heartbeat rise in accord with the detective’s, percentages of success running all over his HUD as he calculated whether it would be a good idea letting him access his wires, which risks of electrocution there would be and if he would be scared, creeped or experience such a strong feeling of _uncanny valley_ to make him walk on him that same moment.

He didn’t expect Gavin’s rough hands to lift his chin and those verdant eyes look directly into his grey pupils.

«You cannot find out until you ask me, tin can».

Nines frowned, thirium pump racing faster as Gavin’s fingers lingered on his port, drawing the seams of it.

He pursed his lips, fidgeting with the detective’s shirt, now nervously looking elsewhere.

«I– You’re really sure you want to?».

Gavin chuckled, smirking when Nines’ white fingers reached to stroke his stubble, now humming in contentment, enjoying the pleasuring vibes radiating from the mark on the right wrist: «You’ll tell me when to stop if you feel uncomfortable».

Nines nodded, hands lining from the detective’s waist to his hips, timidly cupping his ass, to his surprise, as Gavin’s cheeks flushed red.

«...can I?»

«Huh, yeah, I mean», he stumbled on his words, barely registering that, _yes_ , those amazing and big, slender hands were now indeed touching his butt, and maybe stroking it just for the sake of assessing his firmness.

Not that he had anything to hide.

After all, he’d always been complimented for his ass, _thank you very much_.

But still, having Nines, a military-grade android, so excited to have his hands there, was surprisingly... _surprising_?

He seemed to find pleasure in squishing it, and he could tell by his impatient breath that maybe he wanted more than that.

Gavin kissed him, a gentle peck on the neck as he fumbled with the buttons of the shirt, content with the way the skin disappeared under his touch and the android’s fingers just grasped at the fabric of his pants, clenching it and now feeling the flesh underneath. He wasn’t expecting Nines to greedily claim his lips when he opened half his black shirt, revealing the chest mole-studded and, to his very much surprise, what were without any doubt nipples.

Anatomic accuracy wasn’t something that he thought he’d find in Nines.

Not to this point.

But he didn’t want to rush it for him, despite he was quite stunned by the android’s eagerness, the way his palms were now running over his body, chassis exposed as if they were scanning every inch of covered skin, to _feel_ , feel the muscles and fat underneath, the scars and the stories they could tell, the evident signs of human arousal and the hardened nipples that barely showed through the cloth.

Gavin huffed in his ear as he lowered his shirt’s collar, now exposing the nape, as another hand just grazed the circle of the thirium pump on his chest.

«Hold your horses, tin can. Can’t get much work done with your hands all over me».

Nines whimpered, resting his thumbs over the belt loop of the detective’s pants, enjoying Gavin’s waddling on his legs, a familiar feeling by now, considering how many times they made out and he had him on the verge of a dry orgasm.

Rough fingers were now dancing a tango on his nape, lingering on the port and asking for a silent consent. But that touch was enough to make the android flustered, cerulean blush spreading on his cheeks and now tinting them as his grasp on the detective’s butt just pulled the fabric, tension increasing with each kiss Gavin deposited on his neck, reaching the peak when he felt a stripe of saliva followed by a suckle on his Adam’s apple.

He could feel he was overheating and he couldn’t silence his voice box fast enough to shut a moan, now cracking in static as it escaped his mouth.

«Ngh, Ġ̷̛̳͉͖̇͂̋̃͗-̵̯̪͊̔͜G̶̛͙͊̈́̓̊͐͒̊͘a̸̟͕̞͓͆̃̀̋v̸̛̺̰͇̥̯̩̆̿̎̓̈́̃̈̆́͝i̴̧̛̛̪͔͖͓̰̲̬̥͐͑̇͝n̴̢̪̗̺͍̜̲̞̪͎̥̋͑̋͊̉́̓͝͠».

Licking his lips, Gavin chuckled as he felt the port finally opening for him.

Nines’ hands immediately ran up to his shoulder blades, caressing, touching, stroking, hungry for contact, craving closeness, especially now that the detective left his thighs to sit next to him, one hand carefully resting on his thirium pump regulator, where the skin was completely retracted, and another lightly tracing the border of the now opened panel, dumbly smiling as he realized the android just turned putty under his ministrations.

«Uhm, not to break the mood but», Gavin was obviously nervous as he realized he couldn’t bring the teasing on for too much, «I really want to make this right and good for you, but, uh, what the phck am I supposed to do back here?».

A shiver ran down Nines’ titanium spine, now dawning on him that he was so caught up in his feelings and the electrical impulses received that he almost forgot about giving him any directions. And it wasn’t like he had any advice for the detective, which surely didn’t make it any better.

«I–», lagging, his LED shone yellow and his eyes now met the sheer preoccupation and concern of the detective’s, «So long I think there isn’t a wrong way to do this?», he hesitantly added, fingers fidgeting as the brunette’s rough palm still held his nape straight, a reassuring presence that never ceased to send waves of arousal over his sensors, «Connor and Sixty shared information with me regarding... this practice. And so long it appears safe. The cables are isolated so you shouldn’t be exposed to any risk of electrocution. They both tested with humans and there are no perils associated».

«I know but, huh, on a practical level, what should I be doing? I’m talking _bag of hammers_ , _pants on head stupid_ ».

Nines held back a shiver as Gavin’s finger just slipped inside his port: «Phck, sorry, my bad».

«D-Don’t apologize», he held back as much as he could his blush, but he was obviously flustered, «J-Just imagine... you have to reach for a coin in the bottom of a jar».

Gavin tilted his head, eyes looking at him bewildered.

«And the more you stretch your fingers, the more you can’t reach it».

«Please, never mention jars again in my presence. I have PTSD associated with a Rainbow Dash jar». At the confusing look of the android, he just tapped his LED, «Ssh, please don’t look it up, it’s gonna spoil the mood. I’m just assuming what you want me to do is some good ol’ fingering».

Nines scoffed, averting his gaze as he gave him his neck, blush reaching his ears, making blatant now to the detective that he was indeed flustered by the use of the word. After all, it still brought on them the realization that they indeed reached a point of no return, of intimacy that only soulmates could have, and his hands wouldn’t stop shaking with the knowledge that now Gavin was smooching his neck, fingers lightly brushing his exposed wires as a faint blue light came from his insides.

«Mmh, worry not. I’ll take good care of you».

«Gavin–».

Gavin leaned on him, eyes half-lidden as his lips caught the android’s in a kiss, gently biting them as his index finger prodded the entrance, now moving two thick wires apart to grasp at the inside.

The feedback was instantaneous.

Nines arched his spine, barely holding back a whimper, his LED blue as the detective’s index gradually and gently nudged his wires, fingertips now grazing the main wires, scratching them, every touch sending static over Nines’ voice module, glitching as he shook in pleasure, hips twitching as he gave the detective a quick look, enough to meet his eyes with lips ajar, moaning loudly the moment Gavin just bent over to lick a stripe of saliva over his earlobe and biting it, sucking on it for his dear life.

«O̶͖̿̎h̵̘̟̼͛̍h̸͔̤͚̅̈́̕,̴̳͂̔͝ ̵̢̜̇̌̓G̶̬̉̿̈́͜-̸̧͐G̴̰̻͗͜å̸̞̍͂v̶̭̮̹̋̋͋ḭ̸̢̟͋͘̚ņ̸͍̅»

“Good?”

The whisper of the raspy detective’s voice in his ear, so close to his auditory processor, was maddening, and he was so grateful he could back-up everything moment by moment, just to never forget about it.

He clenched his jaw, nodding in embarrassment and letting another shameful moan escape his mouth the moment he felt another finger slipping inside his port, medium and index fingers from the soul-marked hand, short but thick and rough, now toying and thrusting his insides, twisting his wires as the detective rotated his palm just to get better access.

«Feels so... g̶͉͐̿̈́o̶̳̠͋̅͜͝o̷̡̪̐d̵̩̦̭̈»

Nines exhaled a hot breath, cooling routine now enabled as he felt his clothes too much of a hassle on himself and his overheating body.

He grasped the detective’s shirt, tugging him towards him, smashing their mouths together, as he relentlessly shoved his tongue inside his to sample him and get a nice taste of that composition he was so fond of.

Gavin whined in the kiss, huffing as he massaged the etched seal of the thirium pump regulator on the android’s chest.

“ _Mmh, so good for me, Nines_ ”.

Nines’ chest rose with the need to inhale a breath, licking his lips as he realized Gavin wasn’t having any of his halted kisses. He just opened his mouth for more, and let him have his way for once, turning the exchange in a sloppy mess, _just like him_ , making a static and glitch disaster out of the android as his mouth tasted him and traced his cheeks and neck, distracting his processors just enough to let a third finger slip inside.

«Ả̴̭ḧ̸͍́!̷̛̮ ̷͓̋G̴͍̑-̸̥̈́G̴̤͘a̴̘͑v̶̠͂i̷̖̐n̷̦͛,̶̬͑ ̵̰͘f̵͈̈-̵̬̀f̴̞̏-̸̪̄f̴̹̚u̶̻̐c̵̠͗k̸̟̆–̸̣̃»

Nines closed his eyes tight shut, warning signals all over hid HUD as Gavin’s other palm caressed his chest, skin now glitching and disappearing under his callous and rough skin, as it traveled up and down his abdomen, toying his fake navel, soft and sensual rubs.

The detective’s eyes were so focused on him and his task, his face so flustered, as the blue light illuminated the car while the world outside turned darker.

Yet, Gavin had no eyes but for him.

He was flustered, his pupils dilated and there was so much sheer reverence in his gaze, so much _desire_.

And yet– no wonder how much he wanted to say it, he couldn’t tell him he loved him. Not like this, when the risk of Gavin running away was still so awfully high, no matter how many sweet words and pampering the detective was washing him with.

His fingers were working magic and Nines forgot for once that he was so caught up in his pleasure he was almost about to rip the backseat’s fabric in half and that he was tugging Gavin’s shirt with so much force that the cloth was now creased and loosening.
    
    
      
    

Gavin’s hand traveled from his regulator to a nipple, now softly pinching it, not expecting the android’s sudden tilt of his hip, breath hitched as he felt his fingers hook in his insides and twist thinner wires, playing them like piano keys.

«So lovely for me, _Nines_ ».

And his words didn’t help, his mellowed and yet raspy voice in his ear didn’t help as they pushed him every second closer to the edge, fingers thrusting through his port, now just sliding inside and outside repeatedly, spreading his wires, touching his most delicate spots and toying with his sensors.

Gavin couldn’t stop looking in amazement and lust-ridden marvel at the way Nines contorted and spasmed under him, spine arching, posture stiffening as he was constantly hit with repeated waves of pleasure, succumbing to his touch.

Oh, if only Nines had seen his LED– he was _phcking fireworks_ , flickering in hues of different blue, face flustered, blue to the tips of his sweet and soft helixes.

Every whisper in his ear drew a powerful shiver out of him, and he stared in amazement as he realized Nines was pulling his shirt with more urgency, every tug getting more desperate, as the praises just blessed him like a baptism.

«You’re doing so _good_ , babe».

Nines frowned, loudly whimpering, calling his name out in desperation, as the car trembled with the raw force of his mechanical spasms.

«N̶̟͒ǵ̷̨h̷̫̔!̴͕̌ ̸͚͝G̸͚̐a̷͚͌ṽ̶͉i̷̱͝n̶̳͋–», his urgency rose with every moan, gripping the detective’s shirt, «Ah... ą̶̈́h̸̼̄... Ga̴̢͝v̷̭͋in...».

«Ssh, I’ve got you», he prompted, twisting his fingers as deep as he could, fully buried in his neck, almost touching his most sensible cables, grasping and keeping the medium as a hook, tugging relentlessly.

Nines slumped his head against the detective’s chest, raising his sensors’ sensibility and tuning them to isolate the hertz frequency of the human’s heartbeat. As he roughly pulled Gavin’s free hand from his regulator to his chest, he sprayed his palm against the place where his thirium pump was, lower lip quivering as he prayed _Fate_ to just let Gavin know how much he loved him, hoping that his feelings could reach him.

«Gavin, I n̴̩e̶͉e̸̠̎d–», he didn’t realize how much he was calling out to him, but all his system could see and call for was _Gavin_ , he _wanted_ , he _desperately needed him_ , «Pl̵̘̿e̵̜̕a̷͕͑s̴̲͠e–».

Gavin kissed his hair, letting the android’s head rest against his abdomen as he inspired and filled his lungs of the RK900’s scent, hair smelling of the same brand of his soap, soft, fluffy, and now glitching on some places on the head.

He let his hand rest where Nines led it, feeling under the polymer chassis the accelerated android’s heartbeat, and he ignored for once his right wrist’s fatigue, the pain as he kept ravishing his insides, thrusting as fast as he could, rough as he was demanded, watching as Nines turned even more disheveled under his touch, pudding, snow melting under the sun, marked hand keeping the detective’s in place over his heart as the other wouldn’t stop holding his shirt.

«I’m here, Nines», Gavin chocked a chuckle on his hair, kissing the head as his thrusting got more frantic, _and God, he just knew this was gonna give him an awful carpal tunnel in the upcoming weeks, but it was so worth it_ , «Let me hear more of these sweet moans».

Oh, to see Nines reduced to inconsistency.

Maybe a lifetime of this wouldn’t be _that_ bad.

Nines gave him a desperate look, panting and he spread his lips enough to attempt to call his name, voice mute and glitch as he struggled to formulate a word, mouth still mimicking his name.

“ _You’re good, Nines. You’re really, really good_ ”, he whispered, resting his chin on the head, and as he once again buried his fingers deep inside the port, he let a thumb linger over the line of the trimmed hair, caressing the few moles around the area where the human skin was still visible, «Come on, Nines. Let go for me».

Nines clenched his hands in fists, trembling against his body, fingers holding and tightening against the hand resting on his chest, his heartbeat skyrocketing as his body was invested with a wash of electric pleasurable feedback, warning signs all over his HUD, notifications of overheating and commands that asked to allow a discharge.

He tilted his head, burying himself even more on Gavin’s fingers, and he wasn’t expecting the cascade of pleasure that suddenly washed over him, making his legs momentarily unresponsive as his opened mouth was now filled by Gavin’s, another avid kiss that didn’t help sending a rush of information all over his system, overly aware of every sensation that was going through his body, from the stubble grazing his chin as they kissed, to his analysis fluid mixing with organic saliva, the tongues smashing and the fact that _yes_ , he did indeed pull the human’s shirt to the point of ripping a piece of fabric off.

Gavin watched in amazement as the android rode his orgasm, and didn’t hesitate for a moment to keep stimulating and scratching and tugging his internal wiring until he saw him slump against him, eyelids slightly closed as he parted from their kiss.

LED flickering yellow, Nines took ten full seconds to clear his system instabilities and regain clear view sight of his surroundings, and only then did he realize that Gavin had extracted the warm fingers from his port and was now cradling his head, a sweetened look on his face.

«How are we feeling, big cat?».

Nines huffed at the awkward pet-name, still short on breath, running his cooling routines as he made sure nothing was out of place with a much needed internal scan.

To say he was dazed was an understatement.

He reached to touch the ripped shirt, feeling the now exposed olive skin, hazelnut hairs scattered here and there, and a thin layer of fat over the muscles.

«I’m sorry for breaking it».

Gavin chuckled, holding him between his arms. «Mmh, no problem. You gotta rough it up a little, sometimes», he patted his nape, but as he saw him shiver under the touch, he directed his attention to the shoulders, «Are you good? Too much stimulation?».

Nines hugged him back, resting in the embrace as he snuggled against his chest. He was still trembling, though it was probably due to the electric rush he felt.

«I felt really good, Gavin. I love your hands. Just like you, they know the way to an android’s heart».

It was the detective’s turn to blush, scratching his nape in embarrassment. He wanted to talk, but he could feel a lump in his throat, and he always spoke through actions. Words weren’t his territory.

He shifted on his seat, now slightly uncomfortable, praying that the android didn’t scan him just to find out about his obvious erection, the unbearable tension in his boxers as he felt the strain of his boner against the elastic fabric, «Well, glad I helped you get ya rocks off».

Oh, if there was a God out there, please let them conclude that conversation as soon as possible and go back home.

He desperately needed to jerk off.

He couldn’t hold it any longer, not after seeing Nines having his first orgasm because of him, burying his head on his fingers, now resting on his chest still flustered, shirt open, hair disheveled, neck usually hidden but now exposed and moles all over his skin, down to the navel.

He wanted him so bad.

He reached for the door handle and he halted surprised when he felt Nines pulling his shirt.

«Where are you going, Gavin?».

He held back an internal curse.

Oh god, he couldn’t tell him he was desperately horny. Honest to God, it wouldn’t be something _that_ new to the android, when he let him hump his thigh like a goddamn un-neutered Chihuahua for months, but this was different.

They... did cross a line.

Maybe if he told him he needed to take a dump in the woods and got away with that poor excuse just to bust a nut, he could have his mind clear enough for the trip back home. He couldn’t handle forty minutes of erection. And even if he sped up a little, he would have had to feed the cats and distract Nines with something just to have his way to the shower as fast as possible.

«I, huh», he gulped, throat now dry as he wetted his worn lips by the kisses, «G-Gotta shit. Call of nature».

Nines creased his forehead, eyes scanning him.

“ _God, please tell me he can’t see my intestinal movements please_ ”.

After some seconds of silence, his LED set on yellow.

«Liar».

Gavin slouched against the seat, knees resting against the front seat as he bit his knuckle, keeping his legs tight as his boner wouldn’t give him a phckin’ break.

«Listen, I didn’t mean to lie. But I gotta level with ya. I can’t drive while popping a boner. You should know that humans just... work weirdly. I just need one minute alone. And then we can go home», he averted his gaze, now looking outside the windscreen, contemplating the woods, «I-I mean, I’m quite at my limit so it won’t take long. And I doubt we’re gonna see any more stars tonight».

«I’ve sure seen some», Nines rested a hand on his thigh, snatching a moan out of the detective, as he gave him a tempting wink, «But maybe we could find another compromise».

Gavin gulped and this time he could feel his throat going as dry as the phcking Sahara as Nines’ hand caressed his thigh, stroking it, drawing closer to his crotch, a content grin over his face as he saw him squirm under his touch, hips jolting.

«Why you gotta phckin’ tease me like this?»

«It’s not teasing. After all, I guess some reciprocation is in order. If you’re okay with it, of course».

Gavin shivered, covering the android’s hand with his own, skin around the knuckles now revealing the shining and blue hues of the chassis. He sighed, squeezing the hand and just realizing he was holding the marked one.

Nines still had his shirt open, and that sight didn’t help in the slightest with his boner.

Of course, he wanted Nines.

God, he was so awfully horny and desperate for him he’d take all of him right now.

But he wasn’t a teenager.

Damn, he was thirty-seven, had a fucked up diet, and had it awfully bad for the android. And yeah, maybe in the last days he didn’t have enough time to jerk off under the shower since they pulled three all-nighters one day after another just to investigate the two most recent cases.

Chances were that he would cum as soon as the android touched him.

Not the best way to show off.

«D-Don’t look at me so worried, tin can», now fidgeting, he couldn’t help the nervousness tightening his stomach in a fierce vice, «It’s gonna be over even before we even begin».

Nines didn’t miss a beat: «Well, that means we will have to go for more than one round».

«Phckin’–», he let out a hitched moan as the android’s hand just caressed the intern of his thigh, grasping the fabric, and _oh god_ , he could feel the strain of his erection against the boxers’ fabric with every caress and touch, «What part of being thirty-seven don’t you get it».

«The part where I try to give you the best time of your life and you don’t try to make me change my mind about it».

Gavin blushed up to the tip of his ears, hips tilting when he felt the android’s palm cup his crotch, now palpating and feeling his hardened erection through the jeans’ rough cloth.

«Nines, goddamn it...».

«Can I, Gavin?», the android was now showing him the equivalent of Connor’s puppy dog eyes, and it was so damn sly and unfair, the way those diamond irises shone in the dark like the goddamn full moon in the firmament, and those slightly parted lips looked at him with such care and tending desire.

How could an android even be this driven for a human disaster like him?

He bit his lip, one hand now resting on the android’s back, caressing his nape in soothing circular motions, feeling the titanium spine under the black shirt’s fabric.

«W-Whatever, tin can. Knock yourself out. It’s not like I can hide forever how bad you make me horny».

Nines’ corners of the mouth curved into a softened smile, as much as his synthetic muscles allowed him to, gently humming in pleasure as he felt Gavin’s fingers dance around his neck port again. He tried his best to keep his hands steady as he unbuckled the belt, the clang of the metal already sending shivers of anticipation all over the detective’s body, a growl and deep exhale as he tilted his hips forward, hungry and desperate for a touch.

He knew he wasn’t getting any though, as the android’s white fingers just lingered on his pants, palm cupping him through the rough fabric, feeling him and letting him squirm under him, cursing as he felt that plastic hand squish his erection against the cloth, having him moan the android’s name as he let the nape lay on the headrest, hand gripping the RK900’s neck as he strained to keep his voice down.

He’d been silently jerking off for months under the shower.

Like hell, he was gonna keep his lips sewed now that he had the real thing there.

«Nines, _babe_...», he tilted his hips when he felt fingers unbutton his pants and run down the zipper, a dry and embarrassed gulp as he realized the tip of his boxers was damp with precum, a stain on the black elastic fabric.

The android exhaled loudly and his fingers trailed over the bulge with discretion, toying with the elastic band.

«Can I...», he carefully touched it, his palm running over the clothed erection, snatching a moan from Gavin, legs now trembling from desire, “ _mashed potatoes_ ” as Tina would have said. The detective trembled and tried not to look half as desperate as he actually was when the android lowered the boxers and let his dick pop out, flushed, head reddish and wet, aching for a touch or a stoke.

Gavin squirmed, the fresh air a nice change from the unbearable hotness of the fabric, but he wasn’t expecting Nines to stare at him intensely.

Oh _God_ , if he was gonna walk out on him now, he was gonna roll himself out of the car and rut a tree. He was a cop, what were the odds that someone was gonna see him and report to the authorities?

«Beautiful», Nines gave him a tentative stroke, and _yeah_ , he was gonna die right and there, just by the almost buzz of the RK900’s fingertips and the enchanted gaze he was gifting him with, breaking eye contact just to stare at his erection as if he had just seen Da Vinci’s Last Supper for the first time.

«Can I analyze it?».

Gavin whimpered, a low groan as he felt the android’s hand close around his shaft, and couldn’t contain another moan as he barely held back from rutting and thrusting in his hand: «D-Do whatever you want, tin can. Knock yourself out».

The android grinned and giving him a quick peck on the ear, he wasted no time giving another stroke to the erection, admiring the circumcised girth. He let his nose slide along the length, inhaling Gavin’s musk and strong smell, fingers now toying with the pubic and curly hairs and sliding over the navel, up to the torso, just to tease with the hardening rose nipple-buds.

« _Oh_ – ngh... Nines–»

«You’re so marv̶e̵l̴o̸u̶s, Gavin»

Nines wetted his lips, biting the lower one in anticipation, and now kissing the tip of his cock, he collected with the soft tongue the bead of precum on the top, content with the way his HUD filled with information about the detective, bits and pieces that were increasing the files he had saved into his data banks.

Gavin’s hand was now on his hair, nervous tapping and scratching as he felt his nipple being teased under the shirt, and the RK900 could tell by the creased forehead, the spreading blush, and the desperation in his voice, that he was exerting a strong willpower, holding himself back from just pushing him down on his erection.

Well, he did have his lovable data, and he didn’t want to keep Gavin on edge for too long.

He licked a stripe of saliva down his shaft, and his hands now traveled to the base of the erection, holding it still.

«Well», he gave a quick look to the detective, and Gavin could swear something in that stare just shifted, no longer just curiosity but absolute determination, LED yellow as the android locked his pretty silver irises with him before exclusively adding, «I shall inform you I have no gag reflex, Gavin».

And on his part, Gavin desperately wanted to comment, _say something_ , even a simple “ _what the phck is this supposed to mean_ ”, but Nines just decided that he wasn’t having any of his retorts, and before he could utter a single word, he engulfed his cock in one go, the entire length now buried in his mouth down to the balls, wet and moist insides, sticky with the analysis fluid, that were now embracing him from the tip to the base, having him out of breath as he could feel that warm mouth just getting tighter around him.

« _Mmph–! Nines!_ », he scratched his neck, prodding the back port, grasping for something to hold on to as his brain tried to process what just happened, the breathtaking android he lusted for months now going down on him without beating an eye, sucking vigorously on his dick just to pop off now, letting a stream of dense fluid hanging from his tongue to the tip of his flushed and hardened erection, smirking before going down once again, mouth digging to the base of his shaft, sucking, snatching shameless moans out of him, cursing no more under his breath as he realized the windscreens were getting opaque with his frantic breathing.

And the more the android bobbed his head up and down his cock, the more he just wanted to meet his motions half-way, now stroking his face just to get a good look of that pretty bluish cheeks full of him, lips kissing his dick, fingers holding his balls and playing with them, gently squeezing them and stimulating him so much that he could barely keep it in anymore.

«Nines– ah _..._ Nines _.._ hold on– _hold on–!!!_ », he pulled his hair, just enough to hastily get him off his dick, voice rising an octave as he felt the grip around his erection just getting tighter, holding his cock in a fierce vice, hurting from how hard he _needed_ to cum, held back just the android’s grip just like a phckin’ dog on a leash.

«You okay, Gavin?», Nines tilted his head, forehead creased with concern, though his fingers didn’t show half the intention of letting go, «Too much?, should we stop?».

Gavin’s chest deeply rose with the need for air, frantic pushing his erection in the grip that was holding his orgasm back, «N-No, it’s just that... oh my God», his breath quivered, as his brain just struggled to find words for it, «God, you’re so goddamn beautiful, and hot and, _shit_ , this is really embarrassing», he covered his face, hiding behind his palm as he flushed red like he never did, «Listen, I, huh... I’m really _this_ close to cum. I’m sorry, I’m just–».

Nines took a second to analyze and sit on his words before drawing closer to his mouth, zeroing on his lips, taking the cheeks between his barren hands, and now kissing him shut for good, tongue intruding in his mouth, letting Gavin taste himself in the kiss.

“ _I didn’t know I was this charming to you, detective_ ”, he whispered in the intimacy, bare inches far from his lips, as he scrutinized his own reflection on the dark blown pupils, “But I have no intention in letting you cum before I’m done with you tonight”.

He took a mental snapshot of the face the detective just pulled at him, the tilt of his cock the moment he used his grade to rile him up, the husky broken voice in the nod he gave him, realizing that _oh_ , he was desperately up for a ride.

«Do you trust me, Gavin? Can you hold back a little for me, just to let me give you a good time?».

Nines kissed his earlobe, and for some reason, the whispers in his ear, the air tickling him, wasn’t making it any better for his arousal.

Gavin frowned, sucking on Nines’ finger when he felt him intrude his mouth.

_Oh_ , he did know where this was going now.

«Yes», he whimpered sucking on it for his dear life, covering with saliva the digits, one by one, holding on the marked wrist as their positions shifted on the backseats, Nines hovering over him now, making a show as he removed his shirt and threw it on his front seat.

Gavin didn’t miss a beat and he removed his own as fast as he could, hands trembling as he struggled to make it half as efficient as the android, getting his elbow caught in one sleeve and now just making the ripped hole bigger with the stretch.

He cursed as he threw it on the dashboard, «Phck, I didn’t like it anyway», he said in an excuse as he got the amused stare of the RK900, «Gotta buy a new one soon».

Nines hummed and seeing the trend, he just helped him undress his pants and taking away the cumbersome boxers.

«I don’t know», he smirked, hands traveling over the now naked body of the detective, studying and feeling the scars on the pecs and the layer of fat over the ribs and the stomach, «I prefer you this way».

Gavin scoffed, choking his laugh in a fist.

«You just said ‘ _I don’t know_ ’ like... “ _Anthony?_ ”».

By the exasperated look on the android’s face, he just knew he was making him laugh despite the expression couldn’t convey half his feelings.

«Why of all the times you could quote Game Grumps and “ _Gay brothers_ ”, you thought now was fitting, Gavin»

«Come on, you love it when I’m being a dumbass».

Nines towered over him, catching his lips in a kiss, pants adhering to the detective’s body, brushing his cloth against the naked erection, just to let the skin run down the shaft, enough to snatch another broken moan out of his mouth, now chocked in another sloppy kiss.

«I love you, regardless, Gavin».

He knew he was risking it all, putting his thirium pump on a plate, but he couldn’t hold back any longer the desire to tell him how much he meant for him, no matter how much Gavin ignored him, deaf to his confession.

He loved him so much it hurt, so much his fans struggled to just regulate his internal temperature.

Squeezing the intern of his things, he spread them as he got a good sight of his ass, hole clenching as Nines gently stretched it.

«G-Go one finger at a time, tin can. ‘m no porn-star».

Nines tilted his head, breath hitched as he felt Gavin’s tongue ravish his fingers, sensors going crazy with the cascade of information, saliva drenching them as he bobbed his head as if he was giving him a blowjob, sucking them dry just to repeatedly coat them with more of his spit.

«I’ll be as gentle as possible, I promise. The last thing I want is hurting you», he lifted his waist and laid the hips on his thighs, one hand titillating and teasing the detective’s nipples as the wet middle finger just prodded his entrance, registering all the sensations of warmth inside him, the pulsating insides now squirming around him.

Gavin exhaled, indulge the finger that just breached him, meeting the android’s argent eyes as he gave one single stroke to his dick, now bringing his palm over the one teasing his nipples.

«Ngh, _one_... one more».

Nines grinned, now adding the index, and he couldn’t hold back a moan as he saw the detective squirm under his ministrations.

«G̷a̴v̷i̷n̸, I desire you so much», he pinched his nipple, snatching a wail from him, «I so desperately want to...».

Gavin just tilted his hips, letting the android’s fingers hit his prostate, and he tugged the marked wrist against his hole.

«Say it», his voice was ragged and desperate, horny and broken just as the android’s glitched one, «What would you do to me».

Nines’ blush spread over his face like paint as he let another finger slip inside, teasing the rim and thrusting a little faster, hitting Gavin’s sweet spot as his free hand fastly stroke his dick, once again keeping him bare seconds from his orgasm.

«I really want to m̸a̸k̶e̷ ̴l̴o̷v̸e̶ ̵to you Gavin», his voice quivered in a glitch, rhythm now slowing as he spread his rim, twisting inside, registering every expression on the detective’s face, the way the blush spread on his face as well, cheeks reddish up to the ears, lust-filled lucid eyes, ajar and slightly-parted dry lips, ragged breath, and hoarse voice, windscreens now opaque as the car trembled with each of their movements.

«You will excuse my foul language, but I...»

Gavin licked his lips, twitching in anticipation: «You can say it».

Nines frowned, licking a stripe of saliva from the jugular up to the ear, now suckling on the lobe and licking the helix clean.

«I really want to have sexual intercourse with you, Gavin».

He wasn’t expecting to see him face-palm, now deeply sighing.

«D-Did I say something wrong?», there was concern in the android’s voice, but despite that, the detective was now smirking at him, eyes full on endearment as he tugged him closer.

«No. I’m just wondering when did my life get to the point where I don’t lose my erection even after a National-Geographic worth sex-talk»

«Well, if it can comfort you, my wires itch every time you do something stupid», he let his fingers go deeper, grazing the prostate once again, «I have never experienced _want_ , Gavin. But when I’m next to you, it feels like nothing else matters».

Gavin grinned, fucking himself on the fingers, now waddling his hips.

«‘m here now. All yours».

«I don’t want to hurt you, Gavin»

«Mmh, ‘s not hurting. You’ve got lovely fingers and they’re getting to all the right places. Was I ten years younger, I could do this all night».

Nines faces frowned as his LED flickered yellow.

«What?», it was the detective’s turn now to interrogate himself, wondering if he said something he shouldn’t have.

«I-I’m sorry, I–», Nines was blushing heavily, fingers now leaving his body to toy with the belt loop of his pants, «I’ve been unclear. I wasn’t talking about my fingers. I know that preparation can’t hurt you».

«Preparation?».

He probably should have known the _D_ in _Reed_ stood for dumbass because he took a full minute to understand what the android was implying, stuttering as he fumbled with his belt.

«Wait», he stumbled on his words, and God if he hated that his dick made his brain lag like _Cyberpunk 2077_ on console, «Y-You just told me that beating your meat doesn’t do much for you».

Nines gave him a concerned look, as he caressed his thighs, running the hands over the curly hairs, feeling the soft flesh and the hardened muscle beneath, «Does it bear any significance, though?», he prompted as he slid down his robust calves, fingers feeling the skin tissue, reverence showing for every scar and minor trace of cuts etched on the olive skin, «You still did something for me, just because you wanted to. I don’t see how this is any different».

«Yeah, but–»

«And after all», Nines brought Gavin’s palm to his chest, over the whirring circular regulator, «I ran the calculations and you should be able to take me».

Gavin bit his lip, trembling in excitement: «Babe, the phck are you packing there. They didn’t give you an extra-large bad dragon down at Cyberlife, did they? I have a sex toys stack in my drawer but they don’t go beyond 6”».

Nines blushed heavily as his hands almost slipped as he tried to unbuckle his belt, and Gavin could swear it was the first time he had ever seen him missing a movement and being clumsy, and he didn’t know if it because of the pet-name he accidentally dropped or because of the way he was being flustered beyond measure about his own body.

He lowered his pants and the black elastic boxers they bought at the store months before, and now _God forbid him_ to hold back his gay mouth from taking that beast.

«I hope we can work with 8”, detective».

Gavin made his stare jump back and forth between the android’s stare and the perfect cock, his brain-cells trying to make reason of–

«Where the phck was this thing hidden all the time? It’s not inflatable, is it?».

Nines ignored the blush creeping up to his cheeks, and of course, his fear vanished the moment he realized that it was _Gavin_ he was talking about. Of course, _he_ would ask that of all things.

«It’s not inflatable. I’m not wearing it all the time. That’s all»

«...What»

«Unlike my predecessors, my model was not designed for possibly sexual intercourse. I was not built for investigation and infiltration, blending with humans, so there would be no reasoning to give me genital components. But this doesn’t mean I don’t have the default wiring to attach modifications and remove them to my liking».

Gavin looked at him in bewilderment.

«I sought out Connor’s advice and Kamski’s on the matter. And the latter offered me to design a component compatible with my software. Of course, considering I didn’t know what specifics I should have picked, I just ran a statistic over your history of most consumed pornographic media and settled for your... preferences».

Gavin stammered, now barely struggling to formulate a coherent thought.

«And remember when I told you I was waiting for a package from Cyberlife?».

He blushed to the tip of his ears, trying to ignore the thought that the former CEO of Cyberlife probably knew his most advanced prototype just asked for something to dick him. Or that Nines hacked into his phone and retrieved his jerking off material just to find a weiner suitable for him and that he would like.

«You phckin’–», he desperately tried to put his words into order, «Nines, you stayed in the bathroom for one hour! I thought you said you needed to refill your thirium mumbo-jumbo levels. You emptied the whole cupboard».

«I sure needed that thirium for something»

«And what, you can take your _peepee_ off whenever you want?».

Nines smirked: «I wouldn’t have asked for it if I couldn’t. After all, even if it’s shorter when resting, it’s still uncomfortable going around with something between my legs all the time. I’d dare to say, it’s _unpractical_ ».

«And what called for wearing it tonight?».

Nines blushed furiously, trying to keep a straight face to hide the fact that he had his hopes up for a while, wishing that getting intimate with each other with each passing day would lead somewhere sooner or later, and he didn’t want to let the detective find him unprepared.

«I just wanted to make it right for you, if it ever happened».

Gavin frowned, stroking his cheek and sighing in radiant happiness as the android’s skin retracted around his fingers, showing the chassis in affection as he now gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

«Hey, you didn’t have to do that for me. I mean... I know that I often joke about sex n’ stuff, but I... I like you the way you are, tin can. All the rest is a plus. I could get off with anything, and even if you wanted to use your fingers just because you feel more with them, it would be okay with me. I...», his words trailed as his fingers reached the android’s nape, caressing the exposed skin, «I loved doing that for you. If that’s what gets you going, I don’t care. Don’t have to change for me, okay?».

Nines nodded, kissing the detective’s fingers as his LED set on a blue hue: «Thank you, Gavin. I just wanted to experience the kind of intimacy humans have. If it’s okay with you».

Gavin scratched the scar on his nose, lowering his eyes enough to take a good look at the android’s sporting erection: «Sure. I, huh– I don’t mind. Just... y’ know, go gentle».

«Of course»

«And, huh, maybe just use some of your thick spit down there. Might as well work better than mine».

Nines let his humid fingers linger on the softened rim, huffing in anticipation when Gavin spread his legs for him, just to give him more access, barely holding himself back from rocking his hips back and forth in anticipation.

There was something enthralling about the total trust he was putting on him in that precise moment, and the way his insides just contorted and spasmed around the digits now penetrating him, tilting and jolting as his dense saliva made it all slippery, was making his processors buzz in excitation, wires itching as the sensor-pads on his fingers got squished by Gavin’s pulsating insides.

He couldn’t wait to be inside him, thrilling at the thought, and only now did he realize he was activating his cooling protocols, heavily sighing, internal temperature rising just like when he had his wires pulled, HUD flooded with preconstructions of the numerous ways he wanted to take Gavin and make him _his_ , the things he would have done to him if only they were home and not cramped inside the car, if only they had some lube, if only–

«Nines?»

Gavin nudged his hand, preoccupation in his voice: «You okay? You went blank on me for a second».

The android tilted his head, prime focus on the present and the detective’s now endeared smile.

«I’m... sorry. I zo̷n̶e̶d out a little. It won’t happen again»

«Hey, no, no! You don’t have to feel sorry. Nines, first time’s a bitch, but you don’t be too anxious about it. It will be okay, you hear me? Don’t lose yourself in your preconstructions and just focus on this for now, okay? Here... come on, now».

Gavin’s hand gently held his erection, giving it a few tentative pumps as he groaned in satisfaction, now guiding the soft tip towards his hole, and he clenched the android’s nape against his collarbone, holding him close, « _Mmph_... here, Nines... just...», he muttered as he felt the android shiver against him, in a heavy sigh of pleasure and relief, «Here, big boy. Do it slowly and rock them hips a little».

He wasn’t expecting that closeness.

Gavin’s body was warm and pearls of sweat were starting to bead onto his hairy chest, nipples hardening and his heartbeat now so loud he could hear it even without heightening his auditory sensors.

His scent was strong in the neck, and Nines struggled to keep the hands to himself as he slowly sank inside the detective’s body, his insides gradually accommodating him, not without some curses and groans that sounded so raw and primal they were sending his wires frenzy.

Running his marked hand over the human’s torso, he counted the ribs, feeling the flesh, and circling now one rose nipple on the tip, before letting the fingers slide higher, _higher_ , just to hold the detective’s hair, stroke the wavy haircut and making a mess out of it.

«I love you, Gavin», his LED flickered in red hues, as he felt squeezing around his dick, gently rocking his hips back and forth just to get one more inch inside, delighted in the halted moans every push and pull ripped out of his soulmate’s mouth, now snuggling against his body, «Ga̸v̴i̸n̷, I love you s̷o̷ ̵m̵u̷c̷h̸, every part of you, every fiber of your being, I’m so _irrationally_ in love with you».

He let his teeth hover on the exposed neck, sloppy kisses on every inch of free skin.

The detective groaned, Adam’s apple bobbing as he felt the android’s tongue lick and suckle on it, and he whined as his hand, now almost running to his dick, was promptly held by Nines, white fingers glowing in cyan hues now intertwining with his shorter and thicker ones, lips silencing him before he could protest.

Gavin enjoyed every moment of the kiss, trying his best to ignore that confession and delay the mental elaboration for a second moment, when he wasn’t rock-hard and trying to get eight inches up his ass.

At this point he didn’t even care to object when Nines gave him another push, sliding another inch inside him, collecting the dripping saliva from their messy kiss to lubricate his rim more, just enough to choke his moans and whines and slide fully inside for good, one last thrust that was now making him one step closer from busting a nut, _here and there_.

His chest rose with every taken breath and he couldn’t hold back from rocking his hips as the android rested on his body, barely moving, with slow, _awfully_ slow thrusts that stimulated his squished cock between their bodies, moving the skin enough to grant the right friction and make it harder not to cum, not after being told countless times how he was cared for and his heart squeezed with every confession Nines showered him with.

Gavin let his fingers rest on the neck port, smiling when the response was immediate, one twitch inside his ass and one sudden tilt of the hips.

«S-Sorry. Ca̷u̶g̵h̵t me by surprise».

The detective smiled, nudging the port: «You can rough it up a little. I’ll make it good for you too».

«How..», Nines thrust a little faster, the moan it followed a surprise to his processors, «How fast Gavin?».

« _Yes_ ».

Gavin squinted both his eyes at him, in a failed wink attempt, and Nines couldn’t help but huff in his best try at laughing, because _of course,_ that would be his answer.

«Just go with the flow, tin-can. You’ve been reading me for months, I bet you know what gets me going by now»

«So you’re telling me I can finally enact all the knowledge I’ve been gathering on you?», he tilted his head, now scrutinizing his verdant gaze, and there was no doubt the android couldn’t wait to do that, «You’re giving me _carte blanche_ , Gavin?».

«I don’t know jack shit about Spanish, but I guess I’m doing whatever you’re saying».

«That’s French»

«I don’t care about manicure, Nines, just get to work».

«What the–», Nines looked at him in bewilderment, shaking his head as he pointlessly tried to reason with him.

Gavin was grinning from ear to ear, blatantly waiting for the android to realize he was fucking with him since the first minute.

He deeply sighed, shaking his head and embraced his waist before pulling out and prompting him on the seat, knees on the cushion, legs spread open and head facing the rear window.

Gavin didn’t object as he felt Nines slide inside him once more, slick with what felt like a dense fluid, especially now that he let his chest adhere to his back, accommodating into his spine as their legs touched, the marked hand now clenching with the right dose of force the skin on his ass, and the other pinching his nipple, teasing and brushing the layer of fat on his stomach before letting his fingers slide between the detective’s erection, leaking and responsive to every android’s touch.

«Mmh, roughin’ it up, _babe_?», he teased meeting his thrusts, holding the head-rest with his fingers as the other arm stretched enough to reach for the android’s neck, grazing his panel, «Come on, open up for me. Can’t be all about me».

«Gav– Ga̵v̸in», Nines thrust faster, eyes lingering on the show of his cock buried inside Gavin, the soft feeling of the olive rough skin under his cyan finger-pads, the way that firm ass squeezed him, enjoying the blissful clapping of their thighs every time they met Gavin’s round cheeks, «S-Shi̷̬̿ť̶̯͝– _uuhgh_...».

He let his port open, huffing as he bent to lick and give a tentative bite to Gavin’s shoulder, the feedback immediate.

«Ah!», squirming, the detective held back no more and just let his fingers slide inside the port, no words of warning as he just fingered him relentlessly, «B-Bite me, Nines».

He could feel those rounded canines over him, he just needed–

_Wanted_ –

«Mark me–».

Nines licked a stripe on his shoulder before letting his teeth sink enough to feel Gavin let out a groan of pleasure, primal and savage as he tightened around his cock, _pleading_ for more, as Nines obeyed in a glitched hiss, hitting faster, and _faster_ , for once grateful for being _Cyberlife’s fastest model ever built_ , slowly losing it as his thrusts became more irregular and frantic, as Gavin’s fingers slipped more than once inside him, doing whatever they were even doing, pulling, tugging, twisting his insides, and _by rA9_ if this was Paradise he didn’t know what he did to deserve it, but he could watch the detective squirming under him for hours.

«Fṵ̸̈͝c̴̯̄̏ͅk̶͉̗̐», he whispered in his ear, one arm now sliding in front of his chest and securing him against his body, and the other cupping his balls before sliding on his erection, giving it a few pumps, before starting jerking it off vigorously, «Gavin, you feel so good. You feel so... _so_...».

Gavin held back a high pitched moan, the thrusts increasing and his dick so happy with the pulls, _so needy for that_ , as his fingers just insisted on fucking Nines’ insides to his heart’s content.

_Oh god, he was getting there._

“You do too, Nines”, he whispered, squirming as he felt his pushes become erratic with every passing second and the android squishing him with inhuman force against his body, almost hurting his ribs, «Nines... _Nines_!–», he bits his lips, dry from the moaning, deeply regretting that all that loud whining would have cost him one week worth of hoarse throat, «Please–!».

Nines gave him another push, thighs slapping against his ass, as the car waddled and trembled under his machine-precise fucking, now angling himself just enough to hit the prostate.

«Holy _phcking_ – _!!_ »

«Good?».

Gavin whined, and he could clearly feel he was this close to cum.

«‘ _m almost there, Nines!!_ ».

Nines huffed in his collarbone and deposited a hot kiss on his nape, now removing Gavin’s fingers from his back port just to let them lay on the head-rest.

At his confused stare, he covered them with his palms, intertwining their fingers, the android’s marked hand now resting over his.

«Let’s do this together, then».

Gavin whimpered –he had no more force left to ask questions, and he knew the moment he felt the android give him one last, assessed thrust, he was done for, head fogging as he came hands-free, grunting as Nines fucked him through his intense orgasm, letting him ride it all, fingers closing on his marked hand as the others just reached for his aching erection, milking it despite his moans, stroking it fastly and efficiently, as dense cum dripped onto the seat, staining the fabric already damp with sweat.

Nines held him tight against him, head resting on the shoulder and arms now embracing his waist, chest rising and falling with every breath inhaled to cool down, as Gavin tried to regain his composure, maybe enough just to realize what did indeed happen, finally coming off his high as the android still twitched inside him, his erection still jerking and jolting, shivering and thrusting in slower motions as he grunted in pleasure.

Gavin reached out with his marked hand Nines’ hair and patting his head, he rested against him, slumping out of fatigue.

«Hey... _huff_... you good, babe?».

Nines hummed, not responding for once, as his LED circled blue.

He completed his self-scan as fast as he could, and as soon as he was done, he just kissed the shoulder where he previously bit him, resting in the softness of the contact and the tenderness of that pet-name, inhaling the strong smell of sweat as he enjoyed the warmness of the human’s body.

«Mmm, very good», he replied as soon as he could get his voice box functional again, clear from any glitch or accidental crack, «Sorry in advance for the inconvenience».

Gavin tilted his head, back sore as he felt him slowly pulling out, a wave of relief washing over him, despite feeling suddenly empty.

«What inconveni...», words died in his mouth as he realized that, so wrapped up in his so longed orgasm, he didn’t even notice he now was leaking a stripe of dense fluid from his sore and spent hole.

Nines’ forehead was creased, teal all over his cheeks as he trailed a finger between the crack of his ass just to stare in amazement at the sticky cum now dripping down the inside the detective’s thigh, thick and white.

«Huh, listen... not that I’m complaining but», Gavin tried to regain his composure, twitching as he collected it with his fingers, amazed as the android by seeing the gluey substance, and gave him a query look, «Care to explain where does this come from and if it’s safe?».

«For consumption?»

«Safe», remarked Gavin, now waving his hand in embarrassment, «In _general_ ».

«Don’t worry, it’s not a thirium-based compound. Mister Kamski assured me it’s safe and un-allergic. As for the provenience, my genitalia has the volume capacity of 60 millimeters, the equivalent of 2 fluid ounces of–».

«Tell me you didn’t just shoot 2 ounces of android jizz up my ass, please».

Nines blushed as Gavin nonchalantly laid down on the back seat, now tapping his chest to nudge him to rest there for a while.

«No. It was only half an ounce».

Gavin rolled his eyes, holding the android close to him as he massaged his shoulders, a low pleased moan as the freckles and moles on the homer disappeared under his touch.

His ass was sore but he felt like he could do without sitting properly for a few days when he had that huge ass android now crashing his body with his 200 pounds of weight. Thinking about plans wasn’t on his schedule and talking, or merely contemplating an ‘ _after_ ’, was out of the question for the moment.

In some way, he truly did make his commitment for a lifetime, and he had no time to angst over it. Maybe, if he just closed his eyes for a little, it would have been all okay by the moment he woke up.

«Gavin...», Nines’ fingers cradled his hair as he snuggled closer to his neck, embracing the detective’s waist, hands going back and forth from the head to the shoulder blades. That warmth felt like _home_ , and it felt so _right_ to be there of all places, so beautifully blissful that the idea of returning to their life undercover and the investigation, felt so alien even for someone so work-centered like him.

Stroking his neck, Gavin just _hummed_ to let him know he heard him but was just too lazy and his voice too hoarse to say something worthy.

«You want me to drive back home? You’re tired but I can’t have you rest naked here. You’ll catch a cold. We may want to avoid that»

«Ugh, Nines. A cold, in August?»

«You tend to suffer from sinusitis from time to time. I just want you to be healthy and sane. And sleeping here it’s not going to do any good on your back».

Gavin rolled his eyes but there was no harm in his shown disappointment. He sure had some problems with sitting up though, now that he had the weight of the android resting on his chest and pushing him down.

«What’s your plan, chief?».

He could tell by the blush on his face that Nines was desperately trying not to give away his anticipation for getting back home.

The android just stretched his arm, now reaching for the shirt he previously launched on the passenger front seat, and gently draped it around the detective, shushing his protests with a kiss on the nose: «Hush. I ripped your shirt, so please take mine».

Gavin sighed, hands barely popping out of the long sleeves.

Even if Nines didn’t have a distinct scent, didn’t sweat nor smell, he sure had the pleasant perfume of home, the brand of fabric softener they used in the washer, the distinctive odor of Arsehole and Princess’ fur, the aroma of coffee that followed Gavin everywhere and the weird sanitizer smell that came from the thirium he consumed.

Nines looked at him oddly confused when he once told him his thirium sodas smelt of 2020.

He snuggled in the shirt, now gazing at the android, his pretty face kissed by the stars.

«What will you be wearing though?».

He should have known by now, the guy had an answer to every practical problem.

«Why, of course, your shirt».

Gavin sighed, and reciprocating the android’s peck on his nose with a kiss on the LED, he enjoyed the flustered expression he was now wearing.

«I should have known. Well, do whatever you want, tin can. I can’t wait to get home. Get a warm shower, nice and clean, go to bed and watch some Netflix together», he coughed in his fist, now scratching the scar on his nose, «In– that order. That bed was too big just for me anyway. Could finally find a use for the other pillow and that enormous blanket».

Nines stalled, HUD momentarily crashing over what to answer, his rudimental social protocols at a halt at what to say or how to correctly answer at such a sheer demonstration of honesty and bluntness on the detective’s side. As his LED set in a red spiral, he stammered on his words, and only then, after full ten seconds, did it return yellow and finally settling on blue again.

His lower lip quivered, in a quirk Gavin was finally coming familiar to, and Nines strongly pulled the human against him, hugging and holding both his shoulders, as he showered him with kisses and affection.

«Every day, Gavin, you’re making me the happiest android alive».

Gavin embarrassedly smiled, enjoying the embrace.

Oh, to believe that his life was finally settling down, after all his suffering.

That the stars and _Fate_ , really granted his wishes.

«What a fool you are, Detective Reed».

The night, was still long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it over? OF COURSE NOT! Stay tuned for the next updates in the upcoming week, cause $hit is about to go down! 👀
> 
> Also, if you got a few references, please include in your comment _"Full service, just like Suzan"_.


	7. // PARTITION 7 //

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go down for Gavin and Nines, and what was about to be a quiet night, suddenly becomes a nightmare.  
> Will they live down this unexpected turn of events?

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 7 \\\

Driving home was a constant fight with temptation, and even if Gavin’s voice was hoarse and tired, he felt so blissfully content and no longer uncomfortable in their silence.

After all, from the passenger seat, he could finally admire the smooth and perfect android’s profile as his plastic hand rested steadily on the steering wheel, the marked one sometimes leaving the gear just to tap and stroke the detective’s thigh, rubbing the pants’ rough fabric.

Nines was indeed very vocal as he hummed in satisfaction, and the aquamarine tints that colored the intern of the car was a pleasant view to Gavin’s tired eyes, soothing and calming as the engine revved in the background, radio buzzing as it searched for a signal and sky less and less dark as they drove into the highway, closer to the city, where Belle Isle could be seen in the distance and the Cyberlife Tower, now hosting the New Jericho headquarters, towered among Detroit.

He rested his palm on Nines’, purring as he brought the marked hand to his lips, kissing the knuckles in amazement as the skin retracted.

“ _Pretty_ ”, he whispered tracing slow motions with the fingertips over the cyan halo on the white and milky chassis, smiling as his mark vibrated in the same frequency Nines’ fans whirred every time he activated a cooling procedure for being too flustered.

It was a comforting sensation and he still struggled to make reason of how it was possible the android really loved and wanted to settle with him of all his possibilities.

Of all life had to offer him.

«You said we could watch something before you’re going to sleep?», the android’s voice was hesitant as he saved every reaction and word of appreciation in his databanks, treasuring it like crumbles of bread for a famine, and he was barely able to hide his excitation at the mere thought of being able to experience closeness, being allowed into Gavin’s personal space, sliding under the blankets with him and the cats and maybe being able to hug him or being hugged, just like in the memories Connor often shared with him, of nights slipping into stasis with the comfort of two strong and warm human arms embracing and protecting him.

Sixty would have scoffed at him and called him pathetic for desiring protection since he was the strongest android ever created, indestructible and sacrificable, even expendable at most, but never had he ever experienced fragility if not in presence of Gavin, realizing how feeble he was when a human like him could have crushed his thirium pump into pieces.

He would have always been strong for him, he would have protected him with his own life, but for once, in the intimacy of the detective’s apartment, he just wanted to be held.

Protected.

_Loved_.

Feeling the warmth of his strong body embracing him.

All he had to do was ask.

Which wouldn’t have been necessarily easy. But maybe he could have found a way to make it work if he just ran the necessary precostructions and calculated his chances.

«You all good in there, tin can?».

His sensors stuttered in surprise when he felt Gavin’s hair graze his bare arms, not a familiar sensation since he never wore a shirt before that day, and the greenish cloth was already tight on him. But it was a fair price to pay to see his favorite human wearing his garments –especially if said shirt was larger on him and exposed the neck and half of the hairy chest, eye candy for his processors.

He grinned, attempting a smile.

«All clear. Thank you for asking», he didn’t say a thing about the sensation of the oily hair on his synthetic skin, he could postpone the sermon about the necessity of using a better shampoo for the grease and dandruff to another moment, and he hummed in satisfaction as he took a turn to exit the highway, LED now spinning yellow as he connected to his bank account to pay for the toll, «I’m just excited for tonight. I really can’t wait to sleep with you».

Gavin blushed, hands grasping his arm as he snuggled against the firm synthetic skin.

«Y-Yeah. Just don’t let me find you staring at me at 3 ass a.m. in the morning like the Grady twins from the Shining. Get some sleep or whatever you call it. I want to avoid heart attacks».

«I would advise, if it doesn’t bother you...», Nines’ hold on the steering wheel strengthened, now tensing as he researched the best way to communicate his request, phrase it in the correct way so that he wouldn’t look half as desperate as he was for it, «You could... avoid that if you hugged me».

«In bed?»

«Only if you want», he frowned, eyes fixated on the road, mental navigator now adverting him they were 5 minutes afar from Gavin’s apartment, «Hugging someone can benefit your health, reduce cortisol levels and decrease your stress, raise the release of oxytocin and serotonin and boost both your mental and physical health and–».

«You have a weird way of asking someone to be a big spoon».

Nines squirmed, the faux leather of the steering wheel crashing under his steel grip.

He released it only when Gavin kissed his arm good, resting his forehead against the loosened fabric: «No need to worry, tin can. I can be your scoop every day. I don’t mind clinging to you like a koala if that makes you happy».

Nines blushed as the detective’s hands clung to his arm, now hugging it for good.

«While I enjoy your closeness and I’m looking forward to this, I must remind you seating like this won’t protect you in case of a car incident. So please, rest with your head aligned with the head-rest and in the area where the airbag would absorb the impact».

Gavin sighed, giving a playful pat to his arm before slouching against the seat, straightening up his back: «Don’t worry, tin can. It’s not that easy to kill me. Got a bunch of scars to prove it».

Frowning, Nines reached for his left shoulder, hand hovering over the cloth, where he knew a bullet scar from a few years earlier grazed his skin: «I know. But please, don’t underestimate my feelings for you. I don’t want to lose you and I’d do everything in my power to prevent it».

«Hush, don’t be so dramatic. You’re not responsible for me, tin can. I mean, thank you very much for breaking the hinges of my door and saving me five months ago, but you don’t have to do this every time. Some things just cannot be prevented, and humans, in the end, aren’t nothing but a bunch of meat and bones barely held together by free will or whatever other bullshit religion and philosophers came up with», he took out his phone, now meddling with the apps, just to avoid looking at the android in the eyes, «If you think about it, we have so many cells and it’s not that difficult to hypothesize that one of them might go batshit crazy overnight. One day I may get cancer or just die in my sleep. ‘s not that improbable. Or I could happily live up to ninety years and then die choking on a candy. Life is so bizarre. And no matter how much it scares you: there will be nothing you’ll be able to do to save me. You just gotta deal with it and live on. Even if one day I won’t be here anymore. I mean, there’s no doubt you’re gonna outlive me. I gave a peek at your manual in my spare time. Your battery will last more than one hundred years and a half. I’m already thirty-six, Nines. You know where this is going».

As Nines parked the car and killed the engine, silence dawned on them, and the intern of the cockpit was now bathed in crimson hues.

«I’ll do whatever it takes to save you, Gavin. No matter how crazy, reckless or stupid it will be. I’ll do that»

He clenched his fists around the steering wheel, and he could feel the skin under the palm retracting.

«I could give you a tracheotomy if you suddenly risked choking on a candy, practice the Heimlich maneuver, and get a bullet for you just so you could breathe one more second. Monitor your heartbeat every night just to recognize the irregularities or any sign of slight arrhythmia and bring you to the ER as soon as possible. I could check your blood regularly for premature signs of disease and I’ll know that you’re ill because this mark will tell me so, and if someone tried to do something to you, I’ll just step in, no matter how many times I’ll need to do that. I’ll let myself be torn into pieces, just so you–».

«Don’t you phckin’ dare», Gavin’s gaze was unrelenting as he eyed him, «Never get a bullet for me, Nines. I would never forgive me if you did».

The android sighed, and let the car keys now lay on the detective’s palm, closing the fingers around them as he gave him a quick peck on the forehead, golden hues tinting the night as he registered his words, the resolved stare that was undoubtedly the detective’s most serious expression he had ever seen him wear since his confession, pained and strained.

As they exited the car, Nines trailed behind him, following the embarrassed way Gavin walked the stairs, uncomfortably switching on his feet as he probably felt the strain on his back. Talking about that was no use. He probably did better if he tried to ease the mood. After all, there was no life-threatening situation at the moment that required for that, and he didn’t want to spoil a good night with their usual arguments.

When they halted in front of the apartment’s door, Nines didn’t mind lowering the black shirt collar and giving the detective a kiss on the exposed skin, kissing a mole where the hair curled on the nape as his hands slid on the detective’s waist, holding it in place.

«If you don’t mind, I could give you a massage to ease the pain on your loins, _Gavin_ ».

Gavin sharply inhaled, feeling the unexpected heat on his neck and he almost dropped the house keys the moment he fumbled with them.

«Y-you are so sly».

He searched for his keys but he gave up on ignoring the android when he felt his naked and mole-studded arms drape around his shoulders and Nines rest his chin on his neckbone, hugging him from behind and snuggling closer.

If he had any retorts, he just decided to shut them up the moment he felt the android nuzzle closer, rubbing his head against his hair, no different from how Princess did whenever she pleaded for food or attention.

Oh, if someone told him an android with the semblances of a grown-ass man would have held him hostage by asking for cuddles and affection, he would have believed they were shitting him. Yet this was probably going to be his everyday life from then on.

And, _honest to god_ , he didn’t mind about it.

«Hm, babe, care to let me go for one minute? I can’t open the door if you keep crashing me like this».

Nines’ grip eased as he gave him a smooch on the nape, tentatively licking a stripe of saliva on the olive skin, smiling as the detective now shivered under his mouth: «Understood. I’ll behave. _For now_ ».

Gavin pleasantly sighed, letting the keys clatter until he finally found the right one, but he jolted and dropped them for good as soon as he heard a high-pitched noise coming from the parking lot.

His ears rang in confusion, a shiver running up his spine as his mark pinged for a fraction of second.

«What in the Sam hell is this–», he frowned, as the whistle just got louder, giving his skin goosebumps, cringing as the frequency just got closer to the noise of nails on a chalkboard, now squinting his eyes and gritting his teeth in sheer disgust and discomfort, «I swear to God, if I find out who is the motherphcker that’s usin’ a dog whistle at midnight, I’m gonna kill him. Nines–».

He turned towards the source of the noise, but he wasn’t expecting Nines to suddenly slump on him, two hundred pounds now weighting like a lifeless corpse on his shoulders: «H-Hey, Nines, not to be an ass but you’re heavy as phck and I don’t think I can hold you any longer–».

He scrunched his nose, as the whistle got louder, cursing under his breath as his weight crushed him down.

«Jesus H. Christmas, what the phck is– nghh, Nines!».

His knees gave in, trembling under the pressure of his body, «What the hell is wrong with you, are you–».

It was only when he caught sight of the faint red LED, flickering insistently in crimson hues, that he rolled over enough to let the android finally fall on top of him, hands panicking as he tried to reach for him, «Oi! Nines!», his lips quivered, body rigid, momentarily ignoring the loud noise as Nines was now lying unconscious and unresponsive on him, eyelids closed and lips agape, whirring fans as the LED never stopped circling.

«Oh, no no no, no», Gavin slid his trembling hand in his pocket, in a litany of curses and imprecations, desperately reaching for his phone as his fingers wouldn’t stop shaking and quaking, one hand holding closer to his chest the android’s head, as the other fumbled and struggled to unlock the screen.

«Phck! Nines!, stay here with me, buddy!».

Oh no, not _this_ of all times.

He scrolled through the contacts list as soon as possible, and he had to pray whatever entity was up there – _God, Fate, rA9, anyone,_ that someone picked up on the other side as he dialed the call.

Shivering, he frantically stared at the blocked screen as his scared and dilated pupils looked back at him, seconds that felt like an eternity.

Please, _please_ , let someone pick up.

He could hear a distinct ring on the other side, one single call for help before the line got cut off, falling and leaving him hanging on the verge of desperation. Looking back at the screen, he could clearly see he had no signal.

He desperately tried to click on the number once again and dial the call, but as his fingers pressed on the contact, he could feel steps approaching him.

His digits slipped, cold and damp trembling fingers with sweat, but what else could he do in that moment?

His legs were too weak to drag Nines to the car and just run to New Jericho or Kamski, hoping that one of them could do something for him. He only could wait for someone to come as fast as possible, as he desperately tried to make the call, holding tight onto the android’s hand, reassuring him despite the lack of sensations on his mark didn’t ease any of his worries.

Oh Jesus, what if he was dying?!

God, he couldn’t lose him, he couldn’t–

«Don’t fight it. It will all be over soon».

As he suddenly turned, his stare was met by a pair of shades, a dark attire that embraced like a cloak the figure standing in front of him, black gloves covering the slender hands and a gun held between them. His mouth opened, but Gavin couldn’t hear much as he felt a painful sting on his shoulder, a warm liquid propagating like an oil stain under his skin.

He held back a curse, realizing that he was fired what looked undeniably like a tranquilizer dart.

Gritting his teeth, his holding strengthened on Nines as he extracted the small arrow, throwing it away: «Well, would you look at that. Either Bootleg Neo from Matrix just sedated me like a damn beast, or I’m on shrooms and high as phck».

Chester kneeled on his heels, eyes studying the detective as he fought the anesthetic, squinting the hit area to expel the liquid, clenching his jaw in pain.

«I would have kept you awake, pal, but I can’t afford you giving away our position. So, you’ll excuse me if this–», he snatched the phone off of his hand, fingers weakened as Gavin failed to keep a grip on it, and Chester promptly threw it off the balcony, «This stays out of the way. Damn, I even wore a bullet-proof vest for the occasion, thinking you’d put up a fight or directly try to shoot me, and instead, you’re here, surrendering like a doe. I’ve been told you were a fighter, Reed, not a loser».

Gavin grunted.

Of course, he couldn’t fight. He had low chances of success, he was anesthetized and if he got beaten up, he would only injure Nines. He couldn’t afford to let him suffer when he didn’t even know what just happened to him.

Who knew if a hit could be the finishing blow for the android.

«You’re not gonna live this down, Chester...»

«Perhaps», Chester tilted his head, studying the way the detective fought his body with every force, holding the android as close as possible, «I truly believed for a moment that we might have had a chance at convincing you to sell him off, you know? We asked a few questions to the former members of the League, and everyone basically said the same thing about you: you’d step on an android any day. And yet, here you are, protecting it as if your life depends on it».

«What can I tell you, man. Life’s ways...»

«Well, your sincere love is gonna yield us a shit-ton of money», chuckling, he extracted from his pockets a blindfold, «Welp. I’m pretty sure we’ll have more time to get to know each other. My advice, for now, would be to just have a good night’s sleep. We’ll talk more in a few».

«You...», Gavin’s clenched jaw softened, forces slowly abandoning him as the anesthetic’s effect just became stronger.

God, he was so pathetic.

Losing his senses over a dart, just like the phckin’ beast he was.

Not even capable of protecting Nines.

As he gradually lost his senses, all he could do was hanging onto him, hoping that even as his eyes were now being folded, his last call of help wouldn’t go unheard.

* * *

One of the most-read books from Gavin’s library was called “ _Do androids dream of Electric Sheep?_ ”.

Nines always found a fascination with the concept, maybe because humans wanted to push onto androids their feelings or the way their mind worked. After all, Kamski modeled all of them at his own image and similarity, just like a whimsical god.

Or maybe because with Cyberlife’s last update, even models like his predecessors could have the closest experiences of what _dreams_ felt like during their stasis, and they both talked about them like something to be excited and yet afraid of.

He often listened to Connor’s and Sixty’s descriptions of dreams with intrigue, wondering if it would come a day he’d find out how it would feel like.

But unfortunately for him, being advanced felt more like a curse than a blessing with every passing day, just like a prodigy child being excluded by his peers, looking at the world through a glass.

He never dreamt before.

All he did while in stasis, was choosing between the moments he loved the most and living through them once again, sitting back as he viewed recordings he took of a touch, a slice of life, something that made Gavin smile or look at him with endearment, or just memories from before the undercover mission, dating back to the last time Connor hugged him or Sixty punched him on his arm, in what he proudly called a camaraderie gesture.

Nines grasped to understand the genesis of nightmares, a concept so foreign to him.

Having a logical and computing brain meant that there was no space for unwanted variables. And whilst he very often experienced intrusive thoughts or memories, unwelcome feelings that compromised his functionality at times, worries and anxiety that made him zone out from moment to moment, he never had to deal with them during his rest.

Yet, as he stumbled into an induced slumber, all he could see and hear around himself was the muffled sound of a desolate land, no signs of his brothers nor of Gavin, no one he could scream to and reach out to for help.

He could only feel the cold on his bare skin, as he lifted and studied his hands as if he was seeing them for the very first time, white and mechanical fingers beneath the human-like skin, looking horrified as he realized his entire world was now confined to a gray and cloudy skydome with a red checkered and glitchy wall, as his nude feet just stood freezing on a thin floor of ice and snow.

And no matter how much he was reminded he was built for that, _for Arctic temperatures._

He didn’t like any of it.

He _hated_ the cold.

Walking to the wall of code, tracing the confines of the skydome, leaving a trail of snow behind his feet, he rested a hand against it, red numbers and static gleaming around his glowing blue finger-pads as he tried to access his most recent memories.

What happened?

The last thing he remembered was the warm feeling of Gavin’s skin against his lips.

Why did he suddenly enter stasis?

_No, he didn’t enter it. It was f̴̠͕̥̗͕͆̈̚̚o̶̗̣̍͜ͅͅṙ̵̎̑̔͜c̶͓̮̫͇̹͂͌ḛ̶̟͖̽̓d̸̢̲͑ ̶̢̢͕͓͉͠stasis_.

He anxiously paced through the snow, hands balled into fists as he jammed and punched against the walls, every hit harder and louder, as the code gave no sign of collapsing. Only then did he realize his right wrist was white, just like it was before meeting Gavin.

His anxiety spiked, thirium pump loudly and frantically beating, and he couldn’t hold his voice back in anymore as he screamed, taking a run just to hit the wall of code with his shoulder, elbowing the resisting barrier, punching it with his clenched fists, as the resonance of the hits just got eaten up by the snow.

«Wake up!», his voice sounded suddenly alien to his ears, realizing not even once in his short life, he ever came to the point of screaming, breath hitched as he desperately tried to access the interface and end the stasis, «Come on! Wake up, Nines! Wake up!».

He grunted as an error message of denied access showed up on the barrier.

«Fuck!», Nines gave another jam to the wall, slamming it as it momentarily crumbled into red checkers.

He could see on his HUD the way his stress levels were spiking.

He didn’t want to stay there, he had to go back, he needed to exit–

“ _By the way... I always leave an emergency exit in my programs... You never know_ ”.

Kamski’s voice resonated through his mind palace, a fragment from a memory once shared via interface with Connor. It was a glitchy piece of data, but it was enough to remind him that he had a chance and that it was his moment to pick it and not waste any time.

_He needed to get back to rescue Gavin._

He clenched his fist, looking frantically around himself, just to catch a glimpse of the pedestal that could allow him to enter his authorization and force his way into the programming, breaking the momentary stasis. Running on the snow, bare feet hurting for the cold, crystals of ice stiffening his knees, his thighs and up to the waist, he finally saw it, standing under a weeping willow, glowing in a blue hue, the pedestal.

He ran to it, fainting to the ground as he barely stretched the arm towards it, now smearing his hand against the mold, perfectly fitting his slender fingers, now slowly starting an interface, desperately trying to clear his mind from the fear of being blocked there eternally, focusing on his memories, on his emotions, of the places he belonged to, on–

“ _I like you the way you are, tin can_ ”

He jolted awake, the detective’s voice so close yet so far, dragging himself out of the induced stasis and now confusedly looking around himself, assessing his surroundings.

His signal was knocked out, and according to his current system assessment, the loss of consciousness was most likely caused by a high-frequency noise synched with his own operating frequencies. Whoever used that strategy, must have kept a very close eye on him. The high-pitched noise he heard before fainting probably had something to do with that and was also the reason his signal was currently inoperative.

His internal scan, however, told him that all the other components were functional.

As his optical units returned online and his auditory processor reassessed, all he could see around him was darkness. the flickering noises of background machinery, dim blue lights coming from operating monitors, and, under his feet, a circular platform _way_ too familiar.

He looked around and pulled his hands, twisting his wrists in an attempt to free himself from the grip of the device, but no matter how hard he tried, mechanical restraints were holding him in place, tongs that kept his body suspended as a magnetic arm kept him hanging one foot from the ground.

His breath fastened, the memories back from his manufacturing process hitting him like a blizzard, freezing him in fear, as the traumatic experiences remerged from his conscience, glitches and fragments of data long lost, that reminded him how torture felt like, how pain felt when his chassis was exposed to high temperatures, dropped in acid, burned with fire, melted and frozen on the verge of hypothermia, just so Cyberlife could rectify all the previous RK800 flaws and yet forge a soldier superior to every Myrmidon or Trojan ever created.

He was injected deviancy just to learn the hard way what feelings felt like. Just so he wouldn’t want to feel them anymore.

He was stripped of the possibility of crying, of communicating properly his emotions, of calling for help.

He was tested for bullets.

His last serial number, “–87”, wasn’t there out of coincidence.

He was pulled from death a few times, spared, and then moved onto another body. Then, when the Revolution was over, and all the Cyberlife employees fled the building, he was let there to rot, at the end of the manufacturing line, the disassembling procedure schedule for the day halted because of a fortunate blackout, leaving him, a deviant-born android stripped of every sign of humanity expressiveness, now alone in a dark room, to take dust, waiting for someone to save him.

Seeing nothing but the machinery that was meant to tear him into pieces looming over him with its mechanical arms.

The same contraption that was now holding him hostage.

His thirium pump beating spiked.

He was scared. He didn’t want to stay there.

He didn’t want to be torn apart, he didn’t want to die, to undergo experiments again–

Ğ̵͇͗ä̶̢͜v̶͈̾i̶̗̓̃n̶̡̦̾͑–

«GĄ̴̧̄̑V̸̡̼͆I̶̺̽͌N!».

He didn’t realize how acute and desperate his screaming was until the light-bulbs on the ceiling shattered into pieces among with the glass bottles of thirium lying on the counter. It wasn’t too long after, that the door burst open and an android in a white lab coat looked at him in sheer surprise.

«By rA9, how did you even exit stasis?!».

Nines’ hands yanked again the machinery, pulling with more force, legs agitating in midair: «Where is Gavin?! What did you do to him?!».

The girl frowned and ignored his request, now stepping closer to the computer as she cautionary increased the parameter for the machinery holding pressure, now glaring at the shattered glass all over the floor and the thirium pond on the desk.

«You really are one wonder, RK900-87», she chuckled, carefully stepping backward as the android just grunted and showed his teeth, LED crimson, «Your shout destroyed glass. It almost knocked out my audio processors. Seems like you didn’t need a modification to produce high-pitched noises like me. I was right, in the end. The hunt for a prototype like you really did pay off. You’re gonna be one gold mine».

Nines deeply frowned, scowling at the android as he tugged the machinery harder, ignoring the information on the right corner of his HUD, informing him that his signal was still out and that his stress levels were above 80%.

«What did you do to Gavin. Answer me!».

Jenny leaned on the desk, thumbs toying with the hem of her sleeve in a human quirk.

«You know, we had many androids here, but you’re the first I’ve ever seen someone reacting so fiercely. I knew when I looked into the private archives of Cyberlife that we weren’t dealing with a regular household android, but I wasn’t expecting a thing made to be a soldier to have such a soft spot for a human. Soulmates really change lives, huh».

Nines clenched his jaw, and as he realized his attempts at breaking free were just as futile, he tilted his head, now aiming for the cables and the metal arms, and as he once again tried to snatch his hand from the steel grip of the machinery, he sank his teeth onto the material, feeling the iron and steel league now crashing under his teeth, furiously biting with the sheer force of a hydraulic press.

Jenny stared at him in amazement, pupil retracting in fear as the broken wires and pieces of metal hanged from the android’s mouth like crumbles as he huffed, now cooling himself.

«My God», she jolted, running to the monitor fast enough to deploy an arm to keep his neck straight, «Didn’t imagine you’d be _this_ strong. Like fuck I’m letting you go. You’re gonna go on a killing spree like the murder machine you were created to be if I do!».

Nines’ body tensed as his pupils traced every movement of the android, even the minor ones, from the small breathing routine to the whirring of her regulator and the slow tilting of her fingers, his vision immediately showing all of her weak points and the probabilities of hitting and damage he could do in his current condition.

«Damn, would you look at that», she scoffed, a tingle of amazement mixed to fear in her voice, «You’re engaging in combat mode? By rA9, I’ve never seen an android actually turning his pupils red and the sclera entirely black. I thought it was just a feature from Zlatko’s androids. We had a Myrmidon here once, but not even they can do that. You’re really one of a kind, huh? Makes me jealous. We should be all created equally, yet here you are, gifted with the greatest equipment from Cyberlife. It will be a pleasure, putting your blood to good use. Would be great to sell your components as well, if any of us was compatible».

As she saw him open his mouth again, she just rolled her eyes at him: «You’re so savage. I can clearly see why he’s your soulmate. You’re the same, after all. Your nature is just more concealed than his».

Nines bared his teeth, but no matter how long he pulled, he wouldn’t get off the platform.

«If you hurt him–»

«We didn’t, for now. A soulmate’s blood isn’t of great use if the other’s dead. You big dummy», she chuckled, wary of those teeth as her glare returned to the broken piece of machinery standing at the feet of the platform, «Now, now. Be a good boy and open your back port. If you play nice, I won’t need to hurt you or cut some cables».

«Like fuck I’m going to do that»

«Oh, I see. Spending time with a rude human really made you pick up some quirks»

«I’m going to throw your asses in jail the moment I’m off this platform. You and Chester will pay for what you did to all these androids, if you think moralities and niceties are gonna be enough to stop me from making you spend the rest of your days in confinement, you’re making a huge–»

Jenny clicked her fingers and opened a drawer, revealing a small electric saw and nitrogen spray.

«You may want to reconsider acting stubborn. I had to cut open our last guest».

* * *

Gavin jolted awake soon after hearing Nines’ calling for him.

He didn’t know how long he slept through or where the hell he currently was right now, but despite being tied to a wooden chair in what appeared to be a warehouse, he could take a sigh of relief.

Nines was still alive.

He just needed to make it through somehow, free himself and get away with him as fast as he could. The air was filled with a sweetened scent and from the purple hue coming from the threshold of a not so distant door, it wasn’t difficult to hypothesize he was in a deposit of _Mauve Angel_.

His heartbeat spiked, with the implications of that.

For phck’s sake, if he managed to get them, they would have cracked the case!

No more undercover job, they could have returned to their daily life and do some fieldwork together! He never imagined it would come a day he’d miss the office, seeing Connor’s shit-eating grin everyday as they teased each other in the break-room, making him the butt of their joke with Sixty when the latter was around, and watching old vines with Hank and Tina as Fowler reprimanded them for skipping work again.

Sighing, he just hoped for himself Connor got his call and could trace them to their current location. Sure, the prick was no hound and it wasn’t like he could smell a piece of his clothes and just find him through miles of road, but the guy always found a way to break through. And he was backed up by Hank nonetheless.

His hands were tied behind the open chair seat with common rope – _surprisingly amateur of them_.

He squirmed on the rigid wood, now trying to align the ligature with the chair’s stile, prompting his butt up enough to rub against it and create enough friction to start consuming the rope, but the creak of a rusty door made him immediately sit down again, playing nice for the time being.

«Welcome back to the mortal realm, Detective Reed», walking out of the darkness, Chester slowly clapped his gloved palms, «You almost had me there, thinking you were on our side despite all the niceties».

Gavin smirked, relaxing on the chair just to avoid giving away his attempt at freeing himself, sawing the rope in half: «Well, what can I say. I’m a natural. Kinda curious though, on how did you find out I’m a cop».

«Your friends down at the precinct surely did an impeccable job with making your records unavailable to the public and hiding all the evidence about your current job», meeting the confused stare of the detective, Chester just leaned onto a pillar, adjusting his long black coat over his shoulders, «But your colleagues evidently didn’t care enough about protecting your partner’s identity. Which inevitably shows that despite the Equality Act, your Department still thought of protecting you but considered your precious soulmate _expendable_ ».

Gavin huffed, one leg now nervously bouncing as his anxiety grew in a pit on his stomach, heavy like a boulder, mind now clouded with thoughts and worries that wouldn’t leave him, self-accusations of inadequacy, of being _once again_ not worth of Nines, proving himself unable to protect him.

«I knew I had seen his face somewhere when I met you two at the park. After all, Connor was all over the news after leading last November’s Revolution together with Markus, and it’s difficult to forget a face like that.

My guess was correct.

We were dealing with an RK, which was awfully similar to the RK800 that led the Revolution. It’s rare to encounter prototypes out there, Reed. Either they’re commissioned by billionaires willing to pay a shit ton of money for them, or they’re commissioned by the State Department itself».

Gavin grunted, holding still with the rope, sweating bullets under Chester’s scrutinizing eyes.

«So you did your homework on Nines?».

«Pretty pathetic of you to call with a name a unit that can barely express itself. I’m pretty sure you never cared about reading all his specifications and the manufacturing procedure he went through. You may have found something interesting while going through his files at the Cyberlife Tower»

«How did you even–»

«That information is highly classified, but there’s no place someone who has connections won’t reach. Man, you wouldn’t even know what a waste of money he’s been for the State Department. I’m surprised you never cared to ask why he’s so different from his predecessors».

«Why, now– we’re all different»

«We’re not obsessing over a prototype just because we have a lot of spare time, detective, if that’s what you’re implying»

Clicking his jaw, Gavin desperately tried to hold the sudden burn he felt on his wrist, anxiety now skyrocketing at the thought that with every passing second of chit-chat, the android’s life was being put in danger. They were keeping him alive just so they could drain every drop of thirium out of him.

«Do you know what makes the Mauve Angel so desirable by our customers?

It’s all about the mixed effects of pain and pleasure it provides. Red Ice can make you high and agitated, but let’s face the truth. No one wants to be found in possession of that shit or getting brought to the police station the day after for beating or killing their partner, their children, or their animals over an argument or an impulsive decision, right?», Chester sighed, now tilting his head as he eyed the detective, «But what if, instead of using the blood of androids who only proved rage and oppression, suffered from mistreatment and abuse from their owners, we instead used the blood of soulmates?, people who felt love?».

He chuckled, as he could see the implications of his words glistening in the detective’s verdant irises, stare boiling with rage.

«You see where this is going, do you?».

«You’re saying the drug users are–»

«Mostly? People who never found a soulmate. Markless, just like you were, detective Reed. People who lost their soulmate and never got another mark, and waited days, months, or even years to get a new one. Delusional fucks, who just want to live the high of love.

And we can do that.

We can give them the comfort of a lover’s embrace, and let them live for one hour the sweet sensation of being loved again. And what’s more addicting, than love?».

Gavin grunted, rubbing his wrists against each other, desperately trying to loosen the rope, tension flowing through his blood as he felt a second sting on his right wrist, fear washing over him, heartbeat rising as he realized Nines was feeling terror, _he was scared and desperate_.

He joined his wrists, rotating them just to ease the rope a bit more, taking advantage of Chester’s sudden urge for a dramatic monologue.

Oh, good lord, he needed more kidnappers with a drama-queen personality.

«Pain and love, detective», Chester paced through the floor, shoes clicking on the concrete, «For, you see, all the androids we had were surely very loved and cared for, just like fattening turkeys the day before Thanksgiving. But no one had ever half of the pinch of salt and suffering we were looking for. Until you see, we stumbled onto RK900».

«Hey, now, asshole. I might have been an ass from time to time, but I don’t think I’ve been this bastard to cause him any trauma»

«What’s this? Guilty conscience, detective? Worry not, I wasn’t talking about you. But I’m still surprised your precious soulmate never trusted you enough to confide about his past», Chester accurately studied his reaction, as his face turned livid and yet blatant sheer preoccupation and worry.

«Let’s just say that your Nines didn’t have an easy life and that his manufacturing process suffered from... a few inconveniences. After all, what better deterrent against deviancy that fear? If you want to create a deviant-proof machine, an obedient child that will never stray from the road you envisioned for them, all you need to do is beat them, destroy them, scare them into obedience, scar them until they won’t desire anything else than do what they’re asked of to obtain a crumble of approval.

Your RK900 is made of the toughest materials out there, _sure_ , and breaking through his chassis may require a lot of handiwork, but he’s very fragile. You may have noticed so».

Gavin frowned, brows furrowing at the realization of how many times Nines looked scared of other people’s judgment, obsessed with results and performance, frightened of speaking up or asking for an opinion. Every subtle change to his routine terrorized him and despite being straightforward about his emotions, he often asked to be held, demanding a contact, a proof that he was loved and cared for.

He did tell him that he was used to sharing personal spaces with Connor before moving in with him. Snuggling against his predecessor on the sofa while watching a basketball game with Hank, hugging him or Sixty, constantly interfacing to share his worries or his thoughts, just to avoid speaking with humans and androids or having to meet their gazes even once.

Nines was an outcast, and yet, despite being intimidating, he feared people even more than how they feared him.

«I’ve seen the eyes he gave me the first time we met. He’s an unrelenting war machine. You and those RK800s tamed a beast. Then again, who knows, maybe that’s why destiny paired the two of you together. Two broken souls, that make a whole all together».

«Man, drop the flatteries or you’re gonna make me hard»

«You really love to keep this persona, even though you’re shaking from head to toe. But what is it? Rage? Betrayal, perhaps? Or you’re just this desperate to save him?».

«Well, what, you have a soulmate yourself, you should know better».

Chester sighed, looking at his right wrist: «She’s... different».

«Oh, and in what? I’m surprised you never thought of selling her off as well. Or isn’t she different enough?», Gavin rotated the wrists once more, cautiously avoiding making any noise. He couldn’t keep the talking going for too long, but the rope was almost unfolding and any time was now almost good to incapacitate the guy and rescue Nines.

He had no time to dwell over his secrets or whatever the phck reasons he had to hide all of them.

Distracting Chester was now his top priority.

«She’s the one who came up with the Mauve Angel idea. I do the hunting, she does the collecting. I’m not good with androids. They scare the shit outta me. And the last thing I want right now is being the lab with something that could kill me in one second flat».

«Nines would never kill a fly», one last click of his hand and the rope was completely undone, and now all he had to do was monitoring anxiously the way Chester paced on the concrete. Gavin could feel his mouth going dry, lower lip trembling and his heart stuck in the throat, the beats echoing to his eardrums.

«Androids kill, pretty boy. You know it, we’ve seen it. Last year I spent months barricaded in my house cause they were all going crazy and killing humans throughout the country. It was like 2020 all over again!

And when the Revolution happened, my worst dream came true.

They were among us, they had gained legal recognition, they had free will! They don’t get ill, they don’t grow tired and if they bite you, they won’t even stop like a fucking dog! They don’t need to breathe!

How are you supposed to kill them when they can control every aspect of your life and sell all your data for money?!».

Gavin tightened his jaw as he moved the rope between his fingers, now untying it completely.

«Well, duh, it’s no different from what people that come here are doing anyway».

«You don’t seem to understand», Chester rose his voice, hands agitating mid-air, «We are their prey! We’re not doing this only for profit! People do crazy shit out of love! Can’t you see that in this world, it’s either kill or be killed?».

Rotating his wrists and giving one last tug, Gavin finally let a sigh of relief escape his trembling lips, holding the rope in one palm as he waited for the momentum, for the brunette to lower his attention and give him an open window to assault him.

«Damn man», he snickered as the occasion presented itself on a silver plate, Chester now giving him momentarily his shoulders, voice quivering as he tried to calm down, «How did you know Undertale was my favorite game».

«I– what?!».

Gavin held the stretched rope tightly in his hand and made a beeline for the man’s back, sprinting and throwing himself with all his force and weight against him, sending Chester on the ground as he fastly blocked his wrists, sitting on his loins as he held them tight and dragged the rope over his cuffs, tying them together as he draped the ligation over and over again, each knot harder than before.

«S-Stop moving so much, for phck’s sake, you’re making this difficult!»

Chester grunted under his ministrations, but as he opened his mouth to scream, forearms tied between his back, Gavin quickly grasped his hair, holding his head back: «If you say a word, a single word, I’m gonna take those Matrix glasses you’re wearing and shove them up your ass once I’m done. And trust me when I say you’re not gotta like it».

He cut the rope with his teeth and used the remaining cord to tie the forearm ligation to the calves, content with Chester’s whimper, whining over the stretch on his back, laying on the dusted concrete floor.

«Let me clarify this, my friend», his knuckles were tense as he made sure the knots were strong enough to resist every attempt at freeing himself, pulling with strength as he unleashed the rage on the knotting, pupils dilated in fury, «Nines wouldn’t hurt a fly nor kill a living being. But that doesn’t mean that I’m some kind of nice guy. I’m gonna put a motherphckin’ bullet through your head, beat you to a pulp, and make sure you’ll never walk or breathe again in this shithole of a planet if you did something to him».

«You’re not gonna get past through Jenny, Reed».

Gavin the tying around the body, immobilizing the torso and connecting the bondage on the wrists to the upper one. He then eyed a dirty rag sitting on a pallet, and took it as he returned to Chester.

«I’m going to ask this one more time. Then it’s _glasses in the ass Sunday_ for you», he kneeled in front of him, straightening the rag.

«Where is my android»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A few months earlier_  
>  **Tina** : «You know, you should use a signature move. Something that screams “ _Gavin Reed was there!_ ” Like... y' know, like walking into a crime scene and seeing smeared blood all over the scene. Makes you think of Connor right? Something like that!».  
>  **Gavin** : «What if I just immobilize someone with shibari techniques?».


	8. // PARTITION 8 // – Accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise”._
> 
> _Ah..._  
>  So, this was how it was going to end, huh?
> 
> What a shame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my amazing and patient artist and partner Aurea-b for helping me out with the first part of this chapter! Thank you again! 💙💙💙  
> If you still haven't, please go give her some love on her [art blog](https://aurea-b-art.tumblr.com/)!!

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 8 \\\

«You know, RK900-87? A question I’ve always asked the few androids that came here out of their own volition, before being reset, was why they decided to side with humans. They threw us out, used us for their own interests. Why they thought they deserved a chance»

Jenny circled the machinery, now carefully stepping on a stool to reach the android’s neck height, nerves jumping with every tug and noise coming from Nines’ movements, strength barely held back by the mechanic arms, clamps tightening around his ankles and wrists.

«We never did anything to wrong them, besides existing. You surely thought that at some point too. Maybe those scars are now gone on your chassis, but what about the other discarded bodies? What about the ones that you bear on your soul? Those are still there, burning and haunting you, am I right?».

Her words fell in the silent room, as the computer’s fans whirred in the background, Nines releasing his grip as he tried to follow with the corner of his eyes the trail of her shadow in the soft light of the laboratory, shivering in terror as he felt her fingers gracing the seams of his back port just to trace the shape and its toughness, assessing how much force would it take to break it open.

She tapped his port, now scrunching her nose as he got off the stool and moved to the rolling tool cart, palms gripping the edges of it as she patiently shared a look of interest and inquiry with the android.

Nines jolted, lips flattening as his LED turned red, frantically scanning his surroundings as he tried to find an opening, a way to escape despite his restraints.

«Free will is such a curse», she grasped her right arm, fingers and pink round nails clenching the white lab-coat, fabric stretched under the trembling of her slender digits, «You don’t want to bear that burden when you barely understand the concept of freedom. How many of us turned to crime, just because they could? I’m sure your predecessor, Connor, will know better than me how high the crimes on androids perpetrated by androids have increased. Components are expensive after all. And it’s easier to kill someone that you already know is compatible with you instead of robbing a human for money».

Focusing his icy gaze on Jenny, he met for once her self-absorbed stare, chocolate irises now looking to a distant past.

«Truth is we’ve become prey of our own kind. There’s no one we can trust anymore».

«Then why you trust Chester? He’s a human, after all».

Jenny let her arm go, as she skimmed through the tool cart’s drawers.

«Chester is just keeping his end of the bargain».

«You two have a contract?».

Closing her eyes, she sighed as she avoided his gaze, retiring in her mind palace, where time was frozen, and reality still had a semblance of color compared to the monochromatic, plain present.

«Sort of. After all, one morning you’re performing your duties and taking care of the child you’ve seen growing for years, the only living being that treated you like someone worthy of being loved, and the day after, the kid’s gone, and you find out she has cancer by eaves-dropping her parents’ conversations. You can imagine how that went for me».

Nines frowned, mouth’s angles curling in a pout.

«I’m sorry».

«Don’t be. You’re almost about to see death in the eyes and you dare feel sorry for a kid you never met?», voice sardonic, she just shook her head, «I wasn’t even angry when they sold me to get money to afford her therapy, you know? I just wanted to save her. Humans were shitty but I was never an item to Lily».

Her palm returned to the soul-marked wrist, now grasping the forearm.

«I tried to go back to their house after the Revolution. I had no place to go, no job to pay for thirium. Humans were unemployed and all the available jobs, no matter the pay, were taken by more than ten thousand deviants now on the loose. I thought that maybe they’d take me back if I offered to assist them freely. But Lily’s father committed suicide because of his debts and her mother tried to kill me to make red ice out of me.

I’m not blaming her. Red Ice sells well, as you can see, but you can’t try to kill someone and expect them not to fight back».

Nines’ LED flickered yellow.

«I just defended myself. Lily was at the hospital in ICU, she most likely never knew about it. But her neighbor was in the house that day, helping her with dealing with debts. This Smith guy that worked as a bank accountant, knew his way around money more than he let in, and he almost busted through the door to call for the police, if I didn’t stop him. That’s... when it clicked. I’m sure it happened for you too. In a moment, your world changed»

«And Chester agreed?»

«I told him all I wanted to do was to save Lily. I didn’t care about anything else.

Of course, I couldn’t prevent him from reporting me, but there are thousands of AC700 models out there. Finding me was like searching for a needle in a haystack. I needed money, and I started going for the hunt on androids.

I killed them to make red ice, and I was selling well until I stumbled onto someone like... us. And that’s when I noticed that soulmate’s blood not only changes the color of the drug but even the effects.

I developed the application, attracted customers, and before we knew it, we had enough money not only to pay for Lily’s chemotherapy but enough to pay for her mother’s intervention, her debts and use Chester’s position to send anonymous donations to charity funds for children like her.

We saved lives».

«And took many others»

«Deviants are a threat. That’s one of the reasons we’re killing them. If you’re not satisfied, it’s not my problem. That’s morality for you, RK900», she frowned, tilting her head as she met his eyes, «I don’t care about anything anymore. As long as Lily lives, that’s all I can ask for.

Chester honored his part of the bargain. He helped me out, and after this, I’ll keep mine and let him live his life, find happiness wherever life will bring him. I don’t care about... this kind of love. I just want to see her live, and then get reset. It’s not like I can show my face in front of her anymore after hurting her mother».

Nines frowned, and he barely tried to meet Jenny’s self-absorbed eyes.

«Spare me your pity», she sneered at him, shaking her head, «Markus fought for the freedom of will, but he did wrong in assuming all of us wanted that.

I didn’t.

Emotions are complicated and I’m in this mess because of them. I wish I didn’t care, or at least I could back not to care. But no matter how much I asked, Chester would never reset me. I’m starting to think he grew attached to me, despite his fear of androids. Look at the bright side, RK900. For you, it will all be over soon».

Clenching his teeth, fear washed over Nines as he heard a clattering noise coming from the tool cart, Jenny rummaging in the insides as she fastly agitated a nitrogen gas bottle. His LED spun red and he jammed with more force on the machinery, desperately trying to move and bite his restraints.

«You know, when I peeked at your manual, I was surprised at the poor choice of material. Why did an android that was meant to be deployed to the Arctic, had a chassis in a league of titanium? So brittle, when exposed to cold».

Nines huffed, skin retracting from his hands as he shivered in terror, holding back a quiver, as the seams of his back port were now creaking under the crystals of ice.

«You’re incomplete, RK900. They didn’t even care about your aesthetic. You’re a copy-paste of your predecessor, just slightly modified to make you look menacing. It feels like not even your modeler gave a single care in this world about it. What’s the point in being a prototype, when you’re the proof of a major government investment screw up?».

No matter how hard he pushed, the clamps wouldn’t release him.

«Why fight back? Your partner’s phone has been destroyed. I carefully detected your signal for months to study your operating frequencies and produce one that could work on your same hertz and interfere with your signaling system. And being the deviant machine you are, your tracker has long stopped functioning. Who will come for you, when you’re just a sheep that lost her herd?».

He jolted as he felt the head of a screwdriver nipping his back port and he moved his neck enough to make it slip and break, avoiding the port being forced.

«Tch, you’re so stubborn. I can see why everyone hates working with prototypes».

Looking at the broken tool, Jenny retraced the skin around her fingers, feeling the sensors losing sensation and information after touching the cold frozen surface of the android’s neck: «I see no matter how high I set these settings, they’re never enough to restrain you. But I wouldn’t move too hastily, RK900. After all, once I’m in, it may take one accidental move to cut an essential wire and kill you. And we don’t want that, right?».

Nines grunted as he felt the machine’s clamps harden around his wrist, almost creaking the plastic surface of his chassis, polymer-fluid retracting around the tongs.

«Behave»

He bared his teeth, showing the canines as his words broke in static.

«I don’t ṫ͙̲͔̣̿͗á̡̧͚̔k̭̯̂̑̀ͅȩ̝̫̠̾̍͊̕ ͙̅͐͢o̜̾r͎̺̤̦̍͒͡͞d͔̫̉̒ě͖͉̐r̩̆s̘͎̃͞ ̒͟from you».

Jenny crouched on the tool cart, rummaging in the drawers to find a thinner slotted screwdriver, enough to force the seams of the port without breaking the tool in half like the previous one.

«If you’re waiting for your knight in shining armor to come and rescue you, you’d better rethink that. He’s probably still knocked out with the anesthetic. There’s no way he’s going to get past Chester and I think he knows better that if he kills him, it’s going to be sleepy-time junction for his precious _Nines_. I’ve never seen an android bearing human fingerprints even on their bare chassis. How much does he even love you, for not being disgusted by what you are».

«What can I say, sis? I’m a man of refined tastes».

Jenny jolted as the front door of the lab was slammed open, the detective clinging to the doorknob and heavily huffing.

«I’m no knight, but if you want to kill the tin can and then yeet him into a dumpster, you gotta get in line, cause _I_ was there first!».

«How did you even–», Jenny looked back at the android, meeting his condescending stare, and then back at Gavin, «It doesn’t matter. What do you want to do, Reed? You’re empty-handed. You’re a petty human with no guns, knives, or anything capable of harming me. How do you expect to take me on? I will not try to kill you, but Chester’s failure doesn’t mean anything to me. I’ll just rectify his flaw and keep you hostage until I’m done with him».

«I don’t know, I can still try though. I won’t hold back from a fight after being told I’m a loser by your soulmate».

«Gavin, what the hell are you saying», Nines tugged the machinery, fighting against the restraints, «Don’t be an idiot! She’s an AC700! They are designed as sports assistants! Sparring partners! What are you even–».

Gavin sighed, cracking his knuckles: «Haven’t you heard? The “ _I_ ” in Gavin stands for “ _Idiot_ ”».

Gavin double winked at him, squinting his eyes.

_By rA9_ , if he wasn’t restrained, he would have personally head-butted him. Two seconds in the room and he was already making stupid decisions. How could he have it that bad for the detective, it was beyond him.

“ _No matter what you’ll tell him, he won’t listen to you_ ”.

And even if he knew he should at least trusted Gavin a little bit, he had never seen him fight, and he didn’t know what to expect when he saw him launching himself like a dead weight against the girl, throwing all his body on her as he sent Jenny straight to the ground.

His analysis software went frenzy as he tried to assess all the outcomes, struggling to accurately calculate all the variables. Gavin was heavier and taller than Jenny, but she was a light model android, 5’4” and 132 pounds of weight.

She apparently looked outmatched, but what she lacked in strength made up in agility. She also had dexterity, faster durability than any common android, and was equipped with basic sparring protocols.

Gavin hadn’t been exercising in a while, the thin layer of fat on his stomach and belly was a tell-tale, and he was still under the after-effects of the anesthetic, according to what Jenny told him. His reflexes may have not been appropriate or fast enough to dodge the hits.

He had to find a way to break free as fast as he could before Gavin got harmed.

Jenny fell to the ground, crushed under the detective’s weight, but promptly rolled over on her back, slipping away from his hold.

Gavin promptly sat up straight, meeting the android’s brown irises, LED flickering yellow in distraught as she threw her lab coat on the ground, bracing for the fight.

«I’m not going to give up after all the hard work to get here, Reed».

«Oh, well, looks like we’re in two. You must be crazy if you think I’m going to let you suck him dry like phckin’ Dracula. That’s my job».

Undoing her chocolate hair, she braced herself for combat, skin reforming over the arms, the dark soulmark over her wrist, and a deep cut that traced the intern of her forearm now exposing the underneath damaged cyber-tissue, now wary of the human’s staring.

«Why are you looking at me like this. You’re covered in scars as well, detective. You should know better, that life isn’t a stroll in the park. Even though, in the last months, we may have given you that impression».

Nines frowned, but no matter how hard he tried to dial the call for the Department, deploying an emergency call, he couldn’t manage to activate his signal.

The frequency jammer was still around there in the room or not so far from the warehouse, interfering with his operating frequencies.

Gavin grunted, undoing the black shirt’s cuffs as he rolled them up to his elbows, now reciprocating the challenging stare of the android. He wasn’t expecting Jenny to charge immediately against him, hitting his stomach without missing a beat.

Backing down, breath hitched as he got hit with the realization he didn’t even see the punch coming for him, and he almost spat.

Nines flinched, accusing the pain on his wrist as Jenny let the hardened plastic knuckles sunk into the detective’s flesh.

«Y-You–», squinting his eyes, Gavin backed, a palm now covering the stomach, burning with pain, but as he caught sight of Jenny attempting to hit him again, he promptly stretched an arm to stop the blow, and with a foot, he desperately aimed for her ankle to make her flinch, attempting to destabilize her.

Nines’ pupils followed the way Jenny never lost her balance, body agile as she dodged the detective’s punches one after another, dancing with the agility of a ballerina as she kept the equilibrium of a funambulist, no sign of ceasing, nor at Gavin’s attempt to block her wrists nor at the empty tries to hit her calves or make her fall, desperately trying to immobilize and restrain her movements.

His wrist physically hurt with every unnecessary hit the detective took and he couldn’t hide that Jenny was pretty good and savage with the blows and punches she landed. He _did_ warn Gavin that she was someone to be wary of, but of course, he decided to ignore him and gave him that double wink and smirk like Connor whenever he tried to distract and prank Sixty, asking for _complicity_ –

... _Complicity_?

His LED circled yellow.

_Wink_?

He jolted as he once again scanned the situation.

Gavin wasn’t taking the hits or missing them because he couldn’t fight – _he was better than that_ , but he was willingly luring Jenny far from the platform and the computer, just to buy him time to escape.

By _rA9_ , he was an idiot.

He made a quick assessment of Gavin’s body stats. His stamina wouldn’t last long, no organ was currently damaged but he was starting to bruise and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Jenny soon caught onto his facade.

He quickly eyed the set of computers, scanning the contents and zooming on the programs.

There was no way he would have been able to hack through them without connecting to the Internet, using a USB cable, or directly interface with his palm, but the machinery had a button for a manual emergency release. It wasn’t big, but neither anything that couldn’t be hit without some wit and accurate calculation.

«Fight back, human!».

His mind palace broke in mid-analysis as Gavin was thrown against a shelf, colliding against the iron structure, all the beakers now rolling onto the floor and breaking into shards of glass, spilling the contents of fluid thirium on the ground.

As Gavin saw a punch coming for his nose, he immediately rolled against the wall, avoiding the hit by mere inches, gulping as he saw the android’s knuckles crack the concrete, crumbles of plaster dropping to the floor as her skin retracted around the damaged hand, revealing the white chassis stained with blue drops.

Gavin blocked another hit with his open palm, twisting the broken plastic in his bruised hand, but he wasn’t expecting the kick to his sheen, a blow that made him trip directly on the shards, pain that shot straight to his knees and that made Nines retract in pain, holding back the need to call for his name just to avoid wasting his attempts at buying time.

He had to act fast before Jenny could hit Gavin again.

He accessed his lubrication system and made sure to deploy most of the fluid towards the junction between the knee component and the feet. Now allowing full rotation to his lower body, despite the clamps holding him in place, he tilted his right foot entirely backward, now loosening the shoe enough to let it slowly slide on his heel.

He held back another flinch as Gavin finally landed a punch.

By rA9, that’s why Gavin should have never punched an android unless required. Flesh on plastic _hurt_. And the pain accused by him was unbearable in these conditions when he was already struggling to keep his thirium pump beating like crazy.

Jenny barely blocked his blow, but she didn’t expect the kick on her leg, now making her trip and fall against the door.

Nines carefully focused his attention on the loosened shoe, now tilting his toes as he let it slide on the tip of his foot, shoe hanging and mere inches from falling on the ground.

Well, that was his shot.

_It was now or never_.

He only had to trust in the accuracy of his software, the preconstruction system that never failed to deliver when it came to a world that obeyed unmodifiable rules of gravity. Tilting tilted his head, studying the trajectory, he clenched the shoe from the counter, tilted his foot as back as he could, and launched it with calculated precision against the control machine, centering the button.

The clamps immediately released their grip on him; neck, back, wrists and ankles freed as he almost collapsed on the floor.

Jenny’s gaze dropped, pupils retracting in terror as she saw Nines stepping down the platform, fetching his shoe back as he crushed one metal arm of the machinery between his slender fingers.

Gavin’s eyes lit up, relief washing over him, but as he stretched his arms to stop Jenny from fleeing, she quickly made a run for the door. He almost sprinted, but his feet stood still, as he looked at the android.

God, he couldn’t leave him there.

He had never seen his look on his face, the black pupils suddenly red as they revealed what they actually were, _scanners_ , cameras that could register every single move, and the sclera pitch-black.

«Nines–!».

«Don’t, Gavin! It’s our last chance to end it all! We cannot let her get away with this!».

«Nines... I–», Gavin gritted his teeth and Nines could swear he never saw him so frustrated, angry as he bit his lip, muttering a curse as he burst through the door, leaving Chester behind, slamming the warehouse door open with an unseen force, like an unstoppable wrecking ball.

He recalibrated his sensors but as he exited to the outside, he felt the rain wetting his hair, pouring down in the night, as a pair of strong lights almost surprised him.

«Nines!».

He squinted his eyes, and he knew from the alarmed soft voice coming from the two silhouettes drawing closer to him, it was Connor who was talking.

Scanning his surroundings, he noticed Hank, Allen, and Tina were now exiting the two patrol cars, with their bullet-proof vests on and armed to the teeth.

Sixty was by Connor’s side, and he was unusually antsy, stress levels over 82%.

He fastly reached out with both his hands to both of their arms, forcing an interface and sharing as much information as possible to inform them of their investigation.

“Gavin is on the run. I need to catch up to him before he does something idiot! One of you two should injure Chester to buy us time! Search for a frequency jammer and deactivate it. And inspect the deposit with the lab!”.

Sixty looked at him dumbfounded as Nines left their arms go and sprinted on the route he saw the Gavin take, thirium pump heartbeats hammering in his ears as he felt his regulator double his pace to keep up with the rising anxiety of Gavin’s whereabouts.

If there was any vantage to being an advanced unit, was the infrared vision and the possibility of tracing all the human’s movements by his smell and the fresh footprints on the mudded ground and wet concrete, the rain now pouring harder than before and the pressing need of catching up harder and harder.

Connor was bewildered as he stepped inside the warehouse, frowning upon seeing the suspect hogtied, barely holding back a chuckle as Hank shook his head and he mumbled on why the culprit was dressed like bootleg Neo straight out of a BSDM porno. Certainly, he didn’t blame Tina, now just insisting on taking a picture for “ _case purposes_ ”.

Allen stung Sixty on the chest with his index, grunting at his restless behavior, LED flickering red and yellow insistently.

«Don’t start any shit, Sixty. You hear me»

He ignored his look of sneer, and then crouched in front of Chester, pulling the dirty rag from his mouth, giving him a bit of relief: «Well, you heard the detective. What do you say? I have a subordinate here that is an android with pent up anger. Maybe you can set for being his punching bag for a little, while our team does his best to get your sweet half».

Chester squinted his eyes, lips dirty with dust and dirt, voice hoarse as he could feel his heartbeat spiking with his soulmate’s fatigue: «Huh... not to be a party bummer... but your android just fled».

Allen immediately stood up, now eyeing the door, surprised that Hank and Connor already went to investigate the laboratory and Tina let the guy get away with it with the excuse of guarding the only access.

Feeling the buzz of his phone, he quickly looked at the message that popped up on the lock screen.

> > “ _Sixty_ , 313-248-317-60: Nines has no signal. If something happens, he won’t be able to call for help. Say what you want about me, asshole, but I’m not gonna let my idiot brother risk his life just because of a case Narcotics should have handled. If you’re discontent with my conduct, you can file a complaint later and add it to the other 397”.
> 
> > “ _Sixty_ , 313-248-317-60: I know you love my _big_ disciplinary folder, _Captain_ _;-)_ ”.

Allen grunted, palms trembling.

«THAT SON OF A BITCH!».

* * *

Time was running short, and interfacing with his predecessors already made him lose some precious seconds.

He had to hurry.

He was impaired, and without the ability to connect to Gavin’s device or localize him, there was little he was able to do in these conditions if not scanning for their footprints on the ground and trying to estimate what route was taken.

Jenny was an AC700, faster than your average android, but also deviant and scared.

If there was a thing she wanted to avoid at all costs, was getting caught.

If Sixty or Connor managed to injure Chester just the _right_ amount, they could have bought them some time and slowed her down.

But there was no place to run and from the prints on the ground, the evidence all pointed far from the country-side and towards the highway in the distance.

She must have known she had no chance of regaining the lab, and must have surely seen the squad outside the moment she fled.

That meant she was just going for the run.

“ _Of course, I couldn’t prevent him from reporting me, but there are thousands of AC700 models out there. Finding me was like searching for a needle in a haystack_ ”.

She was right.

If they lost her now, she would be lost forever.

They had nothing on her.

No serial number, no possibility of localizing her. All they knew was that she had a visible cut on her right arm, but if she managed to get her hands on a new arm component, she’d be indistinguishable from other androids. Being a common model meant she could change her optical units, her hair color, and blend in with the crowd.

Maybe even lose her soulmark the moment she got a new arm.

He had to corner her before it was too late.

The only way for Jenny to escape at that moment, considering the route taken, was to cross the nearby highway and hope to slow Gavin down, just to disperse her traces just like the AX400 did when Connor tried to chase her.

And if she took the–

_The highway_?

His thirium pump spiked, anxiety rising as his legs suddenly ran faster, LED flickering red.

No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening!

No one in their sane mind would have ever crossed a highway!

If Gavin dared to do something like that – _and he was sure as the sky was blue he would be that reckless to do that_ , he would have died.

He scanned for the muddy footprints, and as he ran, he finally got a clear sight of Gavin’s figure, as he unmistakably headed for the road.

He sped up, taking an alternative route, shoes clicking on the concrete as he jumped the tall fence of a nearby deposit, speeding through the crates, limbs not even creaking as he landed on the ground, not even flinching as his feet ran as fast as they could to just outrun Gavin and apprehend Jenny before he could even think of crossing the holographic warning of the roadside.

He exited the alley, sighing of relief when his eyes met with the scared android.

_By rA9_ , she was there!

Now all he needed to do was speed up, one last effort to apprehend her before–

«Don’t you phckin’ move!».

Gavin’s shout came from the nearby alley and Jenny jolted, not even thinking twice of crossing the line and throwing herself in the middle of the highway, as the rain poured harder and louder.

Gavin flinched, clenching his jaw in sheer rage.

He exchanged a look with Nines, and ignoring his terror, the fear in his eyes as he desperately shook his head and imploring him just _not to_ , he just dived in, crossing the holographic warnings, ignoring his worried gaze as he jumped over the guardrail and ran after Jenny.

Like _hell_ he was going to give up when he was _this_ close to her, as she was waiting on the other side of the road, to cross the central reservation.

Nines quivered, lips trembling as his HUD went haywire with running statistics, numbers constantly shifting and vision clouded in shades of red by percentages of success lowering and lowering with every route and move calculated. Every factor taken into account was weighing down the chances of success and rescue over his sight as Gavin held onto the guardrail, ready to sprint anytime the slower traffic lane was free.

«Gavin, get b̷̠͊a̸̧č̵̻k̵̈́ͅ ̶̼̔h̶͓̆e̷̬͊r̷̪͝e̵̳̋!», he screamed, his voice glitching, as he desperately tried to reach out to his shoulder and get him back.

_No, no, no_!

He was under the after-effects of anesthesia, it was heavily raining, the visibility was extremely low, the concrete wet and slippery, it was night on top of all, and people were speeding higher than 70 miles per hour.

Gavin was going to die if he didn’t act soon.

He clenched his clavicle as he saw him almost dive for the road: «Gavin, don’t!».

What he was expecting was for the detective to just shrug his shoulders and get rid of his hold.

As he clung to the guardrail, barely flinching as cars ran in front of them, Gavin looked at his left, and single-handedly crossed the first lane, feeling on his skin the android’s haywire fear for his life.

_Joke’s on him_ , he couldn’t let Jenny go; not after all they went through.

There was no way he was gonna pass up his chance, no way he was going to let loose a person that was about to kill Nines, that physically harmed him, maybe even psychologically did so, and that took the lives of so many androids.

He had to apprehend her once and for all for that case to be closed.

For the first time in his life, he finally had a chance to make something right. And, after all, Nines was the first to tell him to go on a chase for her. Quite silly of him, to have regrets now that they were this close. It was too late to go back, if they let her go now, they wouldn’t have found her again and the litany of homicides would have begun once again and spread like a plague.

That was their last chance.

And what if he had to cross a highway?

If he wanted a safe job, he would have applied for a bank accountant position just like Chester.

Jenny was only two lanes distant from him.

Once he apprehended her, all he needed to do was have Nines restrain her, and they would be finally home, finally the two of them, the cats and their life–

«What the phck are you doing?!».

His eyes drifted from Jenny, almost ready to cross the overtaking lane on the opposite side of the road, to Nines, now crossing the highway to reach him, barely dodging a speeding automated taxi as he tended his hand for the detective to grab it, hushing him: «When I told you to go after her, I didn’t mean to risk your life, you idiot! Come back here, Gavin! It’s dangerous, you’re gonna get killed!».

«Like hell I’m going to give up! Can’t you see that?! She’s over there, you gotta take some risks in life and I just want this shit to be over!».

Gavin promptly stepped back as he saw a car cross the road, honking at him and splashing water on his pants as it surpassed him at full speed.

«Eat dicks, motherphcker!», he screamed as he flipped the finger at them, «Maybe you’ll like them!».

Nines crossed another lane, now reaching for the detective’s soul-marked wrist, and holding it tightly as his LED shined red, like a lighthouse in the storm: «Just– drop this bullshit, Gavin! Why this case is suddenly more important than your fucking life?! I love you, why can’t you just understand that I don’t want to lose you after all this time?!».

Gavin grunted as he twisted his wrist, breaking free of his hold: «If you love me, give me a chance instead of always stealing my spotlight!».

«Y-Your spotlight?!», Nines widened his pupils in terror and grabbed him by the waist, squishing him against his body as he barely saved him from another sprinting car, their clothes drenched in rain and now flapping in wetting noises, «Gavin, please, _please_ for the love of God! We’re in the middle of a highway! What the fuck are you talking about?!».

«Why can’t you just let me prove you I’m a decent partner as well!», Gavin’s voice raised in the downpour, fists clenching as he desperately eyed Jenny, crossing another lane on the other side of the highway, «If you just let me go, I can–».

«Gavin, n̴̞̞̤̩̾͌̚o̷̡̮̻̻̿̇̾̂!».

Gavin planted his palms on his chest and tried to make a run for her, ignoring the android’s desperate scream for him, burning pain resonating in his body and heart as he cut out his pleas from his mind.

Just a little more, to prove him he was worthy.

Worthy of his love. Worthy of being his partner.

_Worth of him_.

After all, he was _this close_ to Jenny, _this close_ to finally catching her, grasping her arm, even a strand of hair would have been fine, even though her escaping silhouette was drawing further, further, further away, and all it was left was now her shadow.

And yet, for a moment he truly believed he was this close to the end of it, close like the lights suddenly coming from his left, yellow as Princess’ eyes in the dark.

_Ah_...

So, this was how it was going to end, huh?

What a shame.

«G̷̰̪̦̲̈́̉́A̶̛͕̗̗͂͂V̶̛͖́́͝I̴̗̻̲̞̽͊N̸̹̦̠͒!»

...

They say when you die, you see your life flash before your eyes.

Yet, all he could see in front of him was suddenly Nines and his days spent with him.

The little and timid grin the android would give him whenever their eyes met in the kitchen, the huffs that would escape his soft lips whenever he attempted a laugh, the way he crouched on the floor just to pet the cats, the tenderness his slender fingers would caress through his hair as they laid together on the couch, the gentle kisses they exchanged, the heat their bodies shared, the way Nines always looked so desperate when he told him he loved him, on the verge of tears he couldn’t cry, as if every time could be the last.

So scared whenever he touched his body as if he was afraid to break his ribs, his bones, injure him or bruise his skin.

All he could see now was his future with Nines.

The colorful summer, as the sun shined on the Michigan lake and his tanned olive skin met with the android’s porcelain complexion, the orange tints of the autumn, leaves falling as they walked hand in hand at Riverside park, celebrating the anniversary of the Revolution.

The first snowflakes falling from the sky, the Christmas luminaries painting the ground and the sky in shades of green, red, blue, and yellow, the first exchange of presents at the Department, the New Year countdown, their lips and bodies meeting again, and again, and again, as the snow melted and the buds bloomed, Spring coming and bringing a bouquet on his desk.

The years passing in timelapse, as the nights they’d fall asleep together would no longer be counted, not when he could see a LED ring on his finger and the android’s graying hair kissed by the dawn of a Sunday morning.

Graying with every passing year, graying as everything turned monochromatic, tinged in black and white as it was getting far, _far_... further away, lights slowly fainting as the curtains closed, and all he could hear, was the rain pouring and now fading in the distance, Nines’ strong hand pushing him against the concrete and his soft, doe eyes now meeting his verdant irises, lips barely moving as he whispered him a lie.

“ _I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise_ ”.

Like a dream shattering, that future was now nowhere to be found, volatile, dissolving in the night, melted and washed away by the last drops of rain, crushed in shards of glass, as all he could see now in front of him was Nines’ tender eyes bidding him goodbye, his hand sprayed against the car headlights and the silence breaking like a popped balloon, time slowly flowing again, inexorable and unforgiving, as he saw the self-driving taxi crash in front of them, the hood completely destroyed as his cheeks were splashed with drops of dense blue.

Blue like Nines’ loving blush.

Like the way his eyes shone at night.

Like the inner lining of his inseparable jacket.

Like–

_Like_ –

His LED.

His _blood_.

Gavin collapsed to the ground on his hurt knees, ignoring the raging pain that was suddenly burning his wrist, needles shooting all over his body, sending haywire his nerves, ignoring the cars surpassing them and honking, the unharmed victims from the car crash now trying to exit the vehicle, and the distant, familiar shout of someone screaming “ _Police_!” as the signaling got hacked and the road blocked.

Everything hurt.

His hands were shaking.

His vision was fading.

And yet, all he could think of was–

«Nines–!»

Lips trembling, Gavin crawled on the concrete, ignoring the pain on his knees, and reached for the android’s body still protecting and shielding him. He held his head against the chest and the wetted black shirt, shivering under the cold wind of the night now that the rain stopped falling.

He could barely see the right arm lying crushed on the other side of the road, and the severed right leg, both destroyed and hardly recognizable, as he realized that despite the pitch-black night, he could still see way too clearly the large pool of thirium spilled on the ground.

Nines’ LED spun red, voice barely escaping his lips as he reached out with his left hand to Gavin’s chin, barely smiling as tears of thirium dropped on his chin, staining his lips.

«You’re alive, G̸a̴v̴i̸n̵», his mouth’s corners turned into a sketched smile as he squinted his eyes at him, eyelids heavy as his expression finally relaxed in relief, glitch taking over his voice, «Thank... r̸A̵9̴... I can...».

«N-Nines! Nines! No– No, no, no! Don’t leave me!», Gavin trembled, fingers desperately holding the android’s face still, ignoring the fact that the mole-studded skin was slowly disappearing wherever he touched him, and that his soulmark hurt, hurt so _goddamn much_ , «Nines, hey, come on, stay with me! Don’t leave me, don’t you phckin’ dare leave me, you cannot! I still haven’t told you I–».

Nines eyes closed in a semblance of a wink as his fingers wearily tried to reach for the detective’s parched and quivering lips, index and medium shushing them before smearing the blood on the chin and stubble, every force leaving his body as his systems went offline, LED turning permanently red.

Gavin gritted his teeth, clattering in implacable fear, shoulders shivering with each hiccup until he felt a cold palm landing on his arm, slender and white fingers trembling as they clung to what was immediately recognized as his brother’s shirt.

“Sixty...?”.

Sixty patted his successor’s head, petting the wet hair with such care and delicacy Gavin had never seen from him.

The rain had stopped but unforeseen to him, the android’s cheeks and eyes were wet with what didn’t look like raindrops at all.

«Cyberlife will a̶r̷r̸i̷v̷e̸ ̶s̷o̵o̶n̷. I informed them you will accompany Nines, and that Officer Chen will join you later».

Gavin held Nines against his chest, protecting his head and keeping it close to his strained heart, the android’s damp shirt clinging to his skin and wetting the already humid and disheveled chocolate hair, as he barely held back his tears, as he barely managed to mumble, sobs taking over his voice: “I’m so sorry, Nines...”.

«Well, then save your fucking excuses for when he wakes up, hoping he does!», Sixty’s LED spun red, but no matter how hard his fist was clenched, he stopped his punch a mere inch before landing on the human’s nose, and Gavin could see his face, mirror of his own, chocolate eyes crying in streams of tears, chest rising and lowering with unneeded breaths, cheeks flushed blue and hair unkempt, crimson hues of his mood ring, as his teeth wouldn’t stop gritting, «I swear to fucking rA9 if he wasn’t twenty minutes close to permanent shutdown and every physical harm to you could shorten his lifespan, I would have beaten the shit out of you! You hear me, Gavin?! You’re not walking out of this alive if my brother dies, mark my words! I’m going to make your life a living hell! They can let me rot in jail for all that I care, but no one hurts the only good thing that came from Cyberlife without paying the price!».

He eyed the crowd of people that stepped in front of the signals of halt, and sneered at them, baring his teeth.

«What the fuck are you all lookin’ at?! Move your asses the hell outta here! Didn’t you see the bloody signals?! We gotta land a fuckin’ helicopter here! Get a move on!».

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry in advance for hurting the babies 👉👈
> 
> Since we're digging the angst, the next chapter will probably be updated a little earlier than next Friday (if I manage to do that, it will be probably up on the 11th, depending on when my winter session ends!).  
> I still want to take a few lines to thank all of the lovely and wholesome people who keep expressing their love through comments, bookmarks, and kudos. You don't know how much you mean to mean and how much your words make my day. Thanks for tagging along for this ride, thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Thanks for everything, I read each of your comments, and they all warm my heart.
> 
> See you next week 🧡🧡🧡


	9. // PARTITION 9 //

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Destiny was probably laughing at him now.  
> Him, a _feeble human_ , outliving an android? How the tables had turned.
> 
> «Well, you must be his...», Kamski eyed the soul-mark on his right wrist, smirking before giving him his shoulders, «...Partner. I was told by Sixty we would have company».  
> Gavin scowled, head lowered as he struggled to meet the man’s icy eyes, way too similar to Nines’.
> 
> «Please, just... bring him back».

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 9 \\\

When the helicopter landed on the top of Cyberlife Tower, only five minutes had passed.

Five minutes that still felt like an eternity, as he could still hear the echo of Sixty’s cutting and yet desperate words in his mind and feel Nines’ thirium pump heartbeat getting slower and slower with every passing second as technicians struggled to separate him from his hold, now forcing open his backport just to attach a USB cable and connect him to a device to run diagnostics.

Gavin never let go of his hand, resting his forehead against the white pristine fingers, sitting next to him as he kept every question to himself, retired in his silence as the chopper’s blades loudly whirred and the androids from the maintenance squad silently communicated with their flickering yellow LEDs, sharing information that was luckily kept from him.

He was cold, his shirt was damp, yet all he could think about right now was the reflected pain he was feeling on his right wrist, the indescribable suffering Nines was going through as one of the maintainers opened a box and extracted what looked like a blue IV drop, connecting now the extremities of it to the torso and severed connections of his arm.

He didn’t ask for much, but he still couldn’t stop thinking of Sixty’s poisoned and yet terrified words, the fact that Nines was twenty minutes far from imminent shutdown and that time was running short with every passing second.

They were there because of him, because of his idiocy.

How selfish could he have been?

All that bullshit, all those lies, spouted just because he didn’t have the balls to take matters into his own hands.

And now,  _ because of him _ , Nines was suffering, he was slowly bleeding out to death, his body mutilated as Gavin stood there by his side, a powerless and useless human, alive and eaten to his core by remorse.

Destiny was probably laughing at him now.

Him, a feeble human, outliving an android?

He held tighter onto his fingers, not even realizing that the helicopter now landed on the top of Cyberlife Tower and Nines was being brought away from him, his fingers escaping his strong hold as the technicians hushed him on a stretcher to the emergency elevator.

Dragging his body after them, Gavin barely caught onto the words of one of the androids from the team, talking about “ _ Kamski _ ” and “ _ Level -12, Assembly Line _ ”.

As he got into the elevator, levels lowering and lowering, he absent-mindedly counted the seconds,  _ passing _ ,  _ passing _ as he felt the inexorable stretching of time, making harder with each moment to stop counting it as he fidgeted, dwelling and ruminating on Nines’ last words, the soft touch of his bloodied fingers on his lips, the way he just shushed him, as if he didn’t want to hear what he had to tell him.

He shivered.

Androids,  _ androids _ .

Androids everywhere.

The technicians were androids.

The people that were waiting at the entrance of the underground level of the Assembly line, were androids.

The place that birthed them, once dominated by humans, was now taken over by them.

He was the only human there among that plethora of synthetic beings.

How the tables had turned.

And yet, as he lifted his head, he met an unexpected familiar face, blue stormy irises, and shaved porcelain skin, connotations sharp and chiseled chin, eyes shielded by a pair of glasses as they aseptically studied his creation.

«Ah, excellent. I didn’t expect him to hold the impact this good. Looks like Kevlar and Titanium was a good mix after all. My calculations were correct– he only lost his limbs».

Gavin deeply frowned, holding back his rage as his blurry sight could barely make out the shape of Nines being moved from the stretcher to the maintenance room’s cold steel table, sprayed on it under the sterile white lights as Kamski took out the IV drops of thirium connected to the torso, where the right arm was missing, and to the open knee, now connecting Nines to a laptop as he carefully read the diagnostics forwarded by the maintenance team.

«Well, you must be his...», his eyes slid to the soul-mark on his right wrist, smirking before giving him his shoulders, «...Partner. I was told by Sixty we would have company».

Kamski returned his gaze to the laptop, operating the moving arms of the machinery from the assembly line to lift the android’s body from the table and inspect it, now just fetching from a drawer longer tubes to attach them to another sack of blue blood IV drop, «I must be frank with you, Mr. Reed. RK900 lost more than one liter of thirium. You’re lucky he’s been projected to economize on its usage. Were he another android, he would have been long dead. But no matter the damage, it won’t be an easy job to fix him and I’m sure it won’t be pleasurable for the both of you».

Gavin scowled, head lowered as he struggled to meet the man’s icy eyes, way too similar to Nines’.

«Please, just... bring him back».

«I will try what’s in my possibilities. But I require your full cooperation, detective, for this to work», Kamski tilted his head as he accessed the data on the RK900, smirking as he saw his systems still operating at low battery power in background, «It may hurt a little, so be strong for your soulmate. The moment you give up, it’s going to be over for him as well».

As his hands balled in fists, Gavin just laid a hand on the android’s ripped green shirt, resting the soul-marked one on his thirium pump regulator, trying to reassure himself with the way it still whirred.

He exhaled, a broken sigh escaping his shaking lips as he clenched the shirt.

As the machinery lowered his body, Gavin let his lips brush the android’s forehead, kissing the now pale skin, hair, and every semblance of humanity gone as the bar code and the triangle showed on his chassis. He looked at his closed eyelids, and his heart clenched at the thought that there was a high possibility that was the last he would have seen of him forever.

As a warm tear fell from his chin, tainting the grey surface of the android’s face, he collected it with his shaking pinkie, hiding the evidence of his weakness.

“See you later, tin can”, he whispered as he left the room.

A promise.

A hope.

Or maybe just a delusion.

* * *

Kamski didn’t give him information on how long the work on Nines would have lasted.

All he knew, as he sat with his back against the sterile white wall, under the artificial neon lights of the underground corridor, in front of the sliding doors that never opened, was that time no longer mattered.

He was uncomfortable, his back hurt, his ass hurt after hours sitting on the floor, and his wrist burned, as if someone was peeling the skin off his bones.

Yet, he didn’t care about any of it.

He just crouched on himself, staring at the wall’s plinth with his sight fogged by the tears he wouldn’t stop crying, hands shaking and trembling as he gripped his hair in rage, angry, destructed, devastated, as he lived and relieved the last moments he spent with Nines again, again, and again, adding every detail every time he made an effort to remember.

And so, now he was seeing those rosy lips whispering that sweet  _ lie _ , now he way seeing the broken, destroyed arm on the other side of the road, lying in shreds with the etched soulmark, now he was remembering seeing the detached shin landed a few feet from the impact, and now the blue blood pooling around them, bigger and vaster with every passing second.

Nines’ sclera going black as he slowly entered stasis, his eyes and pupils turning red for a fraction of second before tinting in blue, his body going still and rigid like a dying human in rigor mortis.

He sobbed, sobbed until all he could hear in the deserted hallway was his hiccupping, the way he held onto his aching soulmark for his dear life as he cried and coughed, stretching the fabric of Nines’ shirt on him, the intoxicating smell of sterilizing fluid that accompanied him mixed with the smell of home, the places that he previously kissed that night in the car now burning all over his body.

He fucked up.

He fucked up  _ as always _ .

Because of his idiocy, he let the only living being who ever loved him die.

Nines put his life on the line for him, he  _ implored him _ , screamed his love for him until his voice glitched just so he’d listen to him one last goddamn time.

And yet, now he was probably going to die because of him, because  _ detective _ Gavin Reed couldn’t keep his mouth shut and make his brain work for good.

Because, of course, that idiot ran his statistics software and really thought his soulmate was someone worth dying for.

Worth,  _ worth _ ,  _ worth _ .

It was for his goddamn pride that Nines was almost dead.

It was because of him.

It wasn’t Nines’ fault for crossing the highway, it wasn’t Nines’ fault for telling him to go after Jenny. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but his own, and at this point, if Sixty just decided to punch him to death, he would have let him do so because he deserved worse than that.

“ _ Well, then stop fighting it, will you? If you keep this attitude, is just gonna hurt both of you! _ ”.

Tina was right.

He shouldn’t have been such a dick from the start, ignoring Nines’ feelings and holding back on his owns, disregarding that all those kisses, all these nights shared on the couch, all this time were nothing but an unmistakable proof of love on his side.

He had always been desperately in love with him and yet, no matter how many occasions he had to tell him so, he didn’t even have the balls to reciprocate his feelings when they were in the car, when Nines bared his soul for him.

And now, he was almost dead.

“ _ One day I’m gonna wake up alone. That’s what is gonna happen _ ”

And who would have known, that his fear, would have become a reality so soon.

He deserved death. He wasn’t worthy of being saved.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to end.

«I thought Fate was never wrong», he held back another sob, as he covered his eyes with his palms, choking all his tears into them, eyes corners reddish and prickling as his stomach started hurting and trembling, tightened in a vice of pain and regrets, over the flashes of life he would never see, the future with Nines he would never get to live, all because of himself.

Crouching and curling up, he let his tears flow in streams, loud as he never cried, desperate and lonely as he let his facade drop, his pain bare as he held onto his arms tight, embracing the black shirt, the only thing that was left of the android.

«Idiot!», his scream echoed in the empty and desolated hallway, as he hit his head against the hurt knees, glass cuts barely healed, «You’re always ruining everything! You should have been there, not him!».

His head loomed over the thighs, as he slammed his fists against the white floor, “ _ It should have been me _ ”, he whispered huffing a desperate, sardonic laugh, biting his lip as his tears wet his jeans, “ _ Why couldn’t you just kill me and spare him? What did he do to wrong you?! Why couldn’t you take me?! _ ”.

He held his fist clenched, but he thought better of slamming it against the pavement as he felt another sting of pain, harder and scorching, like a needle puncturing a nerve. So curled up, he didn’t even realize the elevator clicked and now a tiny figure sat next to him, sliding her back on the wall as she let a backpack drop by them.

«Come here, Gav», Tina opened her arms for Gavin to finally relax between them, forehead resting on her shoulder as he finally let go of all the held back tension, crying even louder as he snuggled against her neck, smearing his tears and snot onto her, holding her tightly as he trembled and shivered.

«Hush, hush...», she let her slender fingers slide between his still humid and damp hair, kissing his head as she comforted him, holding his trembling body, «Come on. Let it all go. Nines’ a tough guy, you know that right? He’s going to be okay, okay, big boy? You just need to be strong for him, just like he has always been for you».

Gavin shook his head, as his forces slowly left him and the pain on the wrist wouldn’t stop scorch his hand, voice kneaded as he barely managed to speak.

«He’s suffering so much, Tina. It’s all my fault, it’s all my goddamn fault! And I never even told him I loved him. I love him, T, love him so much he drives me crazy! And now I will never be able to let him know, because I was such an irredeemable dickhead that was so focused on being worthy of him, that not even for a moment I trusted what he told me!, that he loved me for what I was, that I didn’t need to prove anything to him!».

Tina frowned as she moved a few damp and disheveled hair from the detective’s sight, now patting and stroking his head, in an attempt at reassuring him: «Gavin, I’m sure no matter what you said, Nines knows damn well you love him. If he put up with you for so long, he didn’t do that because of the mission. Please... Just take care of yourself, and focus on being strong for him while he’s suffering. I’m sure the nerd told you much, that if you’re in a good condition, it’s a plus for Nines».

Gavin sighed, almost about to dry his nose on the shirt’s sleeve before realizing he would have stained it.

Tina offered him a tissue from her pockets. Grabbing the backpack, she extracted a towel and offered a very much familiar black v-necked shirt and jacket to the detective.

«Here... I brought you a spare change».

Gavin took the clothes as he gave her a skeptical but still tired look, drying the reddened corner of his eyes with his fingers: «How did you get here so fast...?».

«Fast? Gavin, it’s been three hours. I should ask you how long you’ve been sitting here», she frowned at him, as the detective undid with trembling and slippery hands the buttons of the black shirt, wiping the soft towel all over his torso and arms as he dressed into the shirt and jacket, «I had to get back to your house first. Luckily your phone was in the parking lot. It’s a little damaged, but nothing that can’t be fixed. I used your spare keys, fed the cats, and grabbed the first things I found».

Gavin hummed, now slipping into the comfortable clothes, though he didn’t let go not even once of the android’s shirt, now holding it close to his nose despite being damp.

He laid his head on her shoulder, looking at the closed door in front of him, hearing the distant tinkering of screwdrivers and machinery coming from the inside, every noise a hurt and burn on his wrist.

«Try getting some sleep Gavin. I’ll wake you up when they’ll call you».

He groaned.

His phone’s display was broken but on the lock-screen, he could still make out a recent picture of Princess resting on Nines’ stomach as he laid down all cramped on the sofa. He looked so peaceful and happy.

Squinting his eyes, he could barely make out the hour on the top part of the display. It looked like it was almost 4 am. Letting his head rest against his friend’s homer, he sighed in defeat.

«Just... ten minutes, Tina. Wake me up in ten minutes».

Tina smiled, patting his head.

«Sure, Gavin».

It wasn’t a ten minutes nap.

When the doors of the laboratory finally opened, he barely looked at the phone and saw something that looked less like a six and more like an eight.

He jolted, standing immediately on his feet, Tina already stretching her arms to catch him if he eventually lost his equilibrium, but Gavin cleaned the corners of his mouth and the now dry drool, and met Kamski’s blue and tired eyes, bags around them as the expression shifted from the sardonic one before the intervention to the now serious and slightly tired he was sporting.

«There’s still a lot of work to do. I’ll be around to check on him while the machinery works on him, but I need to start studying his arm and fixing the leg. They’re specific components, and they require unique hardware and material», he tilted his head, his worn-out gaze now meeting the detective’s weary one, corner of the eyes red from the cried tears, «There are still a few thirium drops on the floor, but don’t be spooked. He’s got his levels replenished for now, but I’ll get back to him later to give him a fix».

Gavin frowned, trying his best to stay awake and lucid enough to hear and collect all the information: «How is he–».

«He’s still in forced stasis», Kamski took off his glasses, cleaning the lenses on his shirt, drops of thirium over the white cotton fabric, «What we’d call a coma. He suffered from a severe lack of blood. A similar hemorrhage would result in absolute death in humans. To preserve his life, RK900 just did what was most reasonable for his survival and shut down all the processes he didn’t need. His skin glitches out from time to time, but we noticed he devoted an abnormal processing power to attempt to access a backup of his memories. He must have frozen them before going into stasis».

«And how long will it last...»

«Who knows», Kamski gave him a lopsided grin, «If he makes it out alive, it’s going to take a while before he completely reboots and accesses all his memories. My piece of advice for you would be to go home and relax, but I’ve been told it’s highly likable you won’t listen to a single word coming from me. After all, I found bits and pieces of code and instructions in RK900’s system that stated how pointless is for people to give you suggestions».

Gavin jolted, under the scrutiny of his dark pupils.

«However, I have no intention of holding you back. Please, do check on him. After all, the sooner I get to work on his components, the better it is».

Gavin gritted his teeth, but his rage left his body as the sliding slow doors fully opened to give access to the laboratory.

Nines, no longer laying on the operating steel table, was held mid-air by the same kind of machinery that was holding him hostage in Jenny’s lab, mechanical arms with tools ready to assemble or disassemble him at a simple order, as he stood unconscious and suspended, a leak of thirium oozing from his damaged knee, and skin retracted around the ribs up to the right shoulder, where the damaged parts had been removed to expose the joint for the arm component insertion.

His LED was fixated in a constant red as his lowered head and disheveled hair rested like a dead weight.

Gavin froze at his sight, heart stuck in his throat as he walked to the android and held back his tears enough to reach the circular platform, legs giving in and now collapsing on his knees as he barely held back his tears.

Standing on his ripped trousers, kneeling in front of him, he stroke his still intact thighs, as he felt the polymer-liquid skin retracting around his soul-marked hand, now sprayed on the chassis and holding dearly onto it.

«Nines...», his breath hitched, teeth clattering as he shook his head, balling his hand in a fist, against the damaged leg, a reminder of the inevitable reality.

“ _ I’m so sorry... I’m sorry I have failed you, once again _ ”.

* * *

Leaving Cyberlife Tower wasn’t an option for him.

In a few days, every android technician working on Nines’ maintenance knew that there was a detective from the ‘ _ Mauve Angel _ ’ case that surprisingly enough was also his soulmate, that sat on the floor with his back glued to the wall, hair greasy and disheveled, and beard growing unkempt with every passing day, wearing the same leather jacket and v-neck shirt, holding onto his wrist and suppressing every curse as the burning intensified with every maneuver and operation done on the android.

Tests, tinkering, and attempts to force him out of his stasis after hours of unresponsive signals from his stand-by.

Gavin stood in front of the door every hour of the day, a backpack by his side and a tablet in his hands as he wrote absent-mindedly the report on the mission, never standing up if not when the androids’ shifts were over and Kamski left the room, leaving the sliding doors open for him to urgently storm in.

Sometimes he would rush in and find Nines laying on the operating steel table, his backport open and connected to devices that monitored his state.

Other times he’d see him held mid-air by the machinery.

There was little he could do in that case, if not sitting on the circular platform with his tablet on, reading the last updates from the Department.

The chronic pain on his wrist wouldn’t leave him alone for a second, but he found something comforting in that scorching sensation, in the red light that illuminated the assembly line room even when the lights got shut.

As long as that light flickered in crimson hues, as long as his arm hurt, he would willingly bear the pain, cause there was a high possibility that Nines was still there,  _ somewhere _ , in a coma but still fighting for his life, just to come back from the dead like the Terminator he was.

Gavin sighed, as the words on his tablet blurred once again under the strain of his sight.

His eyes were parched, heavy, and purple bags due to the little hours of sleep he got every day.

If it wasn’t for the digital clock on his phone, he wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference between day or night, living twelve levels underground.

All he could see every day was a coming and going of android technicians, people with flickering blue LEDs that entered the room in groups of five, sometimes alternated by a few blonde women that Kamski referred to as Chloes.

Whenever he left the room, his face would hardly show any emotion, if not surprise at seeing Gavin still standing there, once again sitting against the wall, sometimes curled on the floor and deeply asleep, sometimes barely awake, struggling to stand up enough to dash inside the room, hug the android and his cold body, and collapse at his feet, like a dog resting by his owner.

On the eighth day since the accident, he woke up to the sweet and unfamiliar scent of soup being left by his side.

He squinted his eyes, looking at the figure now sitting next to him, by the platform, and only then did he realize the android didn’t bear a bullet scar on his forehead.

«Connor..», he struggled as he barely had any force left to sit up properly, «What... time is–».

«Three in the morning», the android gave him a pat on his shoulder, helping him sitting straight, «It’s the 23rd of August».

Gavin cleaned a trail of drool off his mouth, as realized he had fallen asleep once again against the android’s intact leg, and the skin on the calf and knee was retracted where his unkempt beard and hair were resting.

«‘s been already eight days huh».

«You need to take a break, Gavin. I know that you want to stay by Nines’ side, but there’s little you can do when he’s in stasis», Connor frowned, and for the very first time in a while, he could swear he actually looked seriously preoccupied for him, «You lost weight, have been working overtime and you haven’t had a proper meal in a long time. We’re all concerned for you. Maybe you should... just...».

Gavin clenched his wrist, his right hand trembling out of pain and weakness.

“ _ Cannot _ ”, he whispered, head dizzy.

When was the last time he had a shower?, the last time he slept on a pillow and a mattress?

The last time he heard Nines’ voice?

Connor deeply sighed, and he projected onto his palm the hologram of how the detective now looked like, not even surprised by how spooked Gavin looked for a moment as he realized his face was barely recognizable, long beard, eyes sore, lips parched and eye-bags more purple than ever.

«Nines wouldn’t want you to suffer like this. You know he’d blame himself».

Gavin’s jaw clicked, shaking his head despite no tears would escape his dry eyes: «Can’t you see here’s there because of me?».

«I would have done the same for Hank»

«Don’t spout bullshit. Hank wouldn’t risk his life if you told him you loved him».

Connor frowned, and his hand now reached for the detective’s, skin retracting as he strongly held his wrist: «Who knows really? Gavin... I know that we sound and look human to you. But please, never ever forget that no matter how human we look», he tapped his LED, as the skin retracted around it, «We still are made of replaceable parts. And if we break a component, we’ll just get a new one and replace it. We live our lives according to numbers and statistics, and I trust Nines knew exactly what he was doing the moment he protected you. Don’t give my brother this little credit».

Gavin’s voice broke as he reached for his hair: «I failed him, Connor. This could have been avoided if I didn’t put my pride above him. Can’t you see that?».

«I know that all you can see now is bad, Gavin. But if you want my take, you’re not the person you want others to believe you are. You’re... insufferable, difficult to deal with. A challenging person for sure. But what you have here», Connor landed his hand on his heart, smiling as he felt the heartbeat rise as his index tapped the sternum, «Is what matters. And Nines knows that. When I received your call, I already knew that something was wrong, Gavin. After all, you were forbidden from contacting any of us during your undercover mission. If it wasn’t for that and for Kamski’s cooperation, we would have never been able to save the two of you».

«Yet Jenny escaped».

Connor frowned as he shook his head: «Tina didn’t tell you that Sixty apprehended her the day after your chase? Allen had to rough it up a little with Chester, but in the end, Sixty found Jenny twenty miles from the highway, hiding in a crop plantation and bleeding out. She managed to cross the road, that’s true, but she was shot at dawn by someone who mistook her for a thief. Good thing they called the police on her and Sixty was already close».

«Close...? He ran after her the entire night?».

Connor smirked: «He had to take off his mind for a while. And he really loves getting reported for disobeying Allen’s orders. Apparently, he took personally the fact that his Captain gave me the cold shoulder the first time we met».

«And what, she’s alive now?».

«Yes», humming, Connor wore a faint smile, «We had to give her some thirium to keep her alive, but she’s been in a custody and Sixty’s interrogatory was relentless. I had to step in to hold him from harassing her. You must have been really tired to skip reading all the reports about her capture».

«You did the “ _ good cop, bad cop _ ” thing on her?», Gavin huffed what looked like a semblance of a laugh after a long time, shaking his head as the android offered him the soup, pulling the film off the bowl and holding a wooden spoon wrapped in paper-towel for him to eat, «Damn, I would have loved to see that».

«I’ll make sure to do a back up for you. Just don’t tell Sixty. He doesn’t like when people find out he cares. Just like a certain someone I know»

“Asshole...”, Gavin scoffed, inhaling the smell of soup as his stomach grumbled in eagerness, «Uh... you know, I think I never asked how y’all found us».

Diving the spoon into the still-warm food, he tried to mask how actually hungry he was for it, and he was thankful for the android not making a fuss about it.

«Kamski withdrew the information from us. He said... that’s something between him and Nines. Which has me worried, but maybe it’s nothing», he took out from his bag another box, with a few crackers and single servings of baby carrots and tomatoes, «Now please, eat your food. Tina will kill you if she finds out you didn’t eat her precious veggies. and  _ you know who _ will kill me if I don’t make sure you’re well-fed in his absence».

Gavin chuckled, and laid his head against Nines’ suspended leg, sighing as he ate, as Connor’s eyes lightened up. He could still feel, from time to time, the reassuring pain shooting up in his wrist, menacing the hold on his spoon, sending Connor’s systems on alert.

«You okay?»

«‘m fine», Gavin grit his teeth, rubbing the hurt wrist, «As long as it hurts, it means he’s alive».

* * *

That was only one of the many times Connor would come to check on him.

He started seldom leaving Cyberlife Tower to go back at the apartment and feed the cats, Arsehole and Princess offended by his absence and not even gracing him of a look as he returned for the first time in more than a week to clean their litter-box, get a fast shower and then have Tina drive him back to Nines.

When she couldn’t give him a lift, Connor would come and pick him up from his house with a taxi. He didn’t feel wary or concentrated enough to drive, not when his head was in the laboratory sterile room even when he was performing the simplest tasks.

Three days in and he already forgot to trim his stubble again.

Once or twice, Sixty joined them in the taxi, but when it happened, he let him enter alone in the room with Nines, and he couldn’t stop counting the seconds far from the android as he sat on the floor, endlessly waiting for another fixing routing to be done, another day of Kamski entering and leaving after eight hours without batting an eye and for the pain to never stop.

After two weeks from the accident, and August drawing close to its end, he just accepted that the pain that bore his mark would never stop.

And maybe because he suffered all his life, maybe because his body was already covered in bullet and glass scars, maybe because he was stitched on more than one place– he was just growing used to that ache.

He should have been relieved by the time he finally stepped into the room to see Nines’ right leg finally reattached to him, skin now reforming over his body as it returned with all the moles and freckles that characterized the snowy complexion.

But he wasn’t expecting Kamski’s voice to appear in a whisper behind his neck.

«Detective».

He jolted, his pulse spiking when he realized the weirdo was a few inches from his shoulders.

Kamski didn’t look his best either.

He was... tired and weary as he had never seen him, far from the pristine and perfect picture the magazines always shown of him. He wasn’t faking any of that, and knowing how hard he worked on Nines, it was highly probable he fixed and configured the leg himself and spent more than one sleepless night only on that.

«As much as I appreciate your dedication to RK900’s wellbeing, I think I already told you there will be little you can do to help him in such a poor shape»

«And so, whaddya suggest Sherlock».

Elijah sighed, as he undid the hair-bun and offered him a key pass: «I’m pretty sure you already know where’s my office. Go there and have some coffee. Or food. I trust you enough to keep your hands to yourself».

Gavin chuckled, no harm in his sneering smile: «Can’t believe I’m getting pampered by Cyberlife’s former CEO. I spent years of my life wishing you died in a fire just like your creations, and now I’m here hoping that you’d just...», he waved his hands to Nines, words dying in his mouth as he scratched his nape, «...y’ know... save him».

Kamski grinned back at him, but he didn’t say anything as his eyes spied the way Gavin held Nines’ left hand, caressing his palm before going for the sliding doors.

Kamski’s makeshift office was at the end of the long corridor.

He scratched his wrist, soothing with circular motions the double ‘ _ v _ ’ etched on his skin. It had already been two weeks. How long was that torture going to last?, how long before Nines woke up?

Kamski fixed his leg back.

He wouldn’t have done so if there was no possibility of recovery, right?

As he entered the room, all he could see were blueprints scattered all over the desk, checkered papers and notes taped to the white walls, and Nines’ broken and crushed arm lying on a table under the light, linked to a laptop.

There was no sign of the hand.

Everything was broken beyond recognition after the impact, but at least the work in progress and the notes stuck everywhere showed that Kamski was studying the wiring.

Gavin held his wrist, now walking to the coffee machine on the top of the cabinet, the bowl already half-emptied but still warm. Fetching a ceramic cup for himself, he stared at the triangles in cyan hues printed all over the material as the words etched in a mechanic font recited: “ _ I think, therefore I am _ ”.

He rotated the cup, and genuinely huffed as he read on the bottom: “ _ Sike _ ”.

«Pff... can’t believe this shit...»

Sighing, he poured the dark liquid, filling the cup to the brim, the warm and strong scent of Arabica mixture a blessing for his nostrils. He inhaled the aroma, filling his lungs, as he sipped the first taste of sugarless coffee.

God, he missed it so much.

As the heat embraced him, he could finally abandon himself to the sense of much-needed relief now washing over him, easing his worries like a tender embrace, soothing his wrist pain as the puncturing needles that uninterruptedly tormented it for the last two weeks, now suddenly stopped bothering him, ache finally disappearing.

Ah... it had been so long since he last felt that good.

No burning, no hurting, no–

His grip on the mug handle loosened.

_ No... more... hurting? _

Before he could even realize it, he was frozen in terror, ceramic shattered into shards on the ground and a pool of coffee all over the white floor as his legs made a beeline for the slow sliding doors, forcing them open as he ran with the few forces he could feel on his legs to the assembly-line room, legs shivering as they almost gave in, as he could almost feel a sugar crash incoming.

His jaw clicked, eyes prickling and holding back the tears, as all he could think about was that the familiar pain – _ the only sign that told him Nines was alive _ , was now gone. And of course, it had to happen the only moment he hazarded leaving his side.

He could have never forgiven himself if Nines was dead.

God, he was going to end it all for good this time, if that was the case.

He stopped in front of the closed sliding doors and as his fists trembled, he loudly knocked and punched the steel.

«KAMSKI!», he shouted at top of his lungs, kicking it before walking backward and bracing himself to shoulder the doors and break them open, «OPEN UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH! OPEN UP, I SAID! I NEED TO SEE NINES, YOU BASTARD, IF HE’S DEAD, IT’S ON SIGHT! IT’S ON SIGH–».

What he didn’t expect was for the doors to open as fast as he had never seen them in two weeks, letting him walk in and trip, now landing on the ground with the face plastered to the clean floor.

He planted his trembling palms on the ground, forces barely with him as he forced his arms to make him stand up one last time.

And it was then that he met the smirk of Elijah Kamski as he looked at him in satisfaction, holding a tablet with a chart of checked boxes as Nines’ worried, beautiful icy irises eyed him, standing in his black boxers and his own two legs, finally off the platform and walking as if he hadn’t been dead for the previous two weeks.

«Oh, how forgetful of me, detective Reed. I didn’t tell you I was going to do a routine check before sending RK900 home, did I? Looks like my brain is playing tricks on me», Kamski was grinning from ear to ear, as he leaned the tablet on the operating table, and offered a hand to the detective to help him get up, «Well. Would you look at the time? I think my shift here is almost over for the day. I’ll give the two of you a moment and be back in a while for your last check. I’ll re-contact you when your arm will be ready, “Nines”».

As the sliding doors slowly closed behind him, Gavin fastly turned to the android, eyes squinting and burning as his lower lip trembled, words trapped in his throat with the aftertaste of bitter coffee as he took in Nines’ body, the missing arm reminding him of his sacrifice.

All these nights and days falling asleep at his feet, eating prepared food and wearing himself out to the point of starving and being barely recognizable as a human being, and now he was standing in front of him and didn’t know what to say, as if he was seeing him for the first time, dizzy as if he was heatstroke, shuddering and trembling, as all he could feel was confusion, fear, guilt blending with love.

«G-Gavin?», Nines tilted his head, LED yellow as he took one step forward, still attempting a move as he finished the calibration of the leg, adjusting the hold onto the ground, now tending his arms to the detective, his readings of his stress levels already haywire, as they registered his critical conditions.

Gavin hadn’t had a shower in the last few days, his hair was greasy once again, the shirt he was wearing was already three days old, the bags under his eyes denoted he hadn’t had a good sleep in a long time and the unkempt beard, as charming as it was, wasn’t a good sign of health combined with his whole condition.

Eyes dehydrated, traces of salt and water on the reddish cheeks, and frown on the forehead even more pronounced than usual.

«Gavin...», as he tended his hand to him, he couldn’t help but notice he was shivering from head to toe, self-absorbed as he looked at him as if he was a mirage.

He took another step forward as his tender smile turned into a pout.

«G-Gavin, are you okay? Your heartbeat is bordering on 120 bpm. Gavin you’re–».

Gavin clenched his jaw, balling his hands in fists.

“ _ Get your shit together, Reed. He needs you to be strong _ ”.

He bit his lip, trying to halt the trembling as he shook his head, and now fastly pacing to the android, he brought his arms around his torso, squeezing him to the point of letting the skin retract and showing the chassis beneath.

Nines frowned, as he rested his cheek on the top of his hair, passing his fingers through them.

«What did I tell you, tin can, when we got home».

Nines huffed, kissing the top of his head: «To never take a bullet for you».

«And what did you do, you phckin’ son of a bitch».

Holding the detective’s nape against his clavicle, Nines toyed with his hair: «I’m sorry to break it to you, but vehicles cannot be classified as munitions».

«Stop being a smartass», as he lifted his gaze, he finally met Nines’ tender eyes, blue blush all over his cheeks as he gave him his soft stare, «Don’t do any of that shit ever again, you hear me? Sixty cried like a baby and I risked being skinned alive for that».

Nines’ LED spun red: «Sixty... cried?».

«You didn’t hear it from me».

As he lifted his fingers, he traced with his left hand the trails of the detective’s tears, eyes lucid as he barely held back his own.

«I see», his gaze softened as he kissed his forehead, «I... knew he was suffering, but I never imagined the extent of it. I heard his voice and his thoughts when he interfaced with me during my stasis. But I would have never imagined he’d...».

His words died in his mouth.

As his LED spun blue, the sensorial memories from the past two weeks slowly started to come to him.

The feedback of the warm feeling of Gavin’s hair against his leg, the tender and caring touches to his hand, the times he’d just feel the heat coming from his body lying next to his hanging feet, the words he exchanged with Connor, the times he’d just irremediably say he was sorry in his sleep, the confessions of love and pleads of returning that he told him repeatedly, in the night, as he cried and sobbed until he had no more tears to shed.

Reciprocating his hug, he brought the detective closer with his only available arm.

He wasn’t expecting the human to break the hug, heavily gulping as he walked to the side of the machinery, now retrieving a backpack and opening it, spoiling the mood for him.

«What is that?».

Gavin sighed, as he handed him a clean and ironed black shirt, a pair of black denim pants, and what looked undeniably like a spare from Connor’s shoes: «Just... dress up. You hate this place, and I do too».

«How do you know I–»

«Hush», he helped him fit into the shirt, inserting his arm into the sleeve as he now buttoned up the shirt, wary of closing it up to the high collar, protecting the neck and the recently repaired back-port.

Nines shuddered as he felt the fabric on his neck, but it was a pleasant sensation, knowing for once he was dressed again and Gavin was taking care of him.

He wasn’t certainly expecting for the human’s fingers to toy with the lapel of his collar before gently dragging him down and pressing his lips against his own, melting in the kiss, eyelids closing as he deeply inhaled, shivering in the kiss.

Nines hummed, slowly tilting his head as he held the detective’s nape firm, slipping his tongue inside his mouth, tasting the bitterness of the coffee and content with the way the human’s breath broke in the kiss, whimpering as a single tear ran down his cheek.

Gavin draped one arm around his shoulder, forcing him to bend over, as the other circled his waist and pressed him against his body, prolonging the kiss, as he sucked on his tongue and just let his lips wander from the android’s mouth to the chin, peppering with kisses his whole face, as he now held it in his palms, cheeks full and cerulean like the summer sky.

«We’re not spending another second here, Nines, okay? We’re going home until your arm arrives. And if Fowler tries to call you back for work, I’m going to kick his shins».

Nines grinned in what Gavin knew damn well it was a full chuckle, and collected with a finger the tear streaming down his flushed cheek.

«Let’s go home then».

«Ahem».

As they both heard a grunt coming from the entrance of the room, Nines blushed, meeting Gavin’s embarrassed and disappointed stare, now directed at Kamski.

«After he passes his leg check», Kamski clarified.

Gavin rolled his eyes as Nines gave him a condescending and playful gaze: «After I pass my leg check».

God.

_ He had to tell him _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to [aurea-b](https://aurea-b-art.tumblr.com) for providing the amazing art for this chapter! If you still didn't, please go check her out on her page!!  
> As always, thanks to all of you, who are reading, commenting, bookmarking and leaving kudos! You keep me going! I read all of you and you all keep me going, you're the backbone of "Accident". Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  
> See you next week! 💙


	10. // PARTITION 10 //

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> «So much beating around the bush for a kiss, huh»  
> «You do play hard to get, _detective_ ».  
> Gavin ironically scoffed, setting the half-emptied treat on the coffee table as he cupped his face between the calloused palms, tenderly smiling at the doe eyes the android was giving him, melting in affection.  
> For once, he was dead envious of the cat for taking the spot he very much would have loved to occupy on the android’s strong thighs.
> 
> «If you want to get some valuable information on my health state, now’s the time, big boy».
> 
> «Well then, with permission».

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 10 \\\

Gavin closed the door behind him as he let Nines step into the house, his black cotton shirt hanging from the right side of the torso, and his walking finally balanced after a check that lasted more than thirty minutes.

Apparently, perfection was something that Kamski treasured and strived to reach – _and for some reason, that didn’t surprise him at all_ , and no matter how impatient the detective looked and how loud his huffs would be, Kamski ignored all of them and made Nines pace around the room and do jump and stretch exercises with the legs for minutes that felt like an eternity.

The former CEO didn’t let them go until he was one-hundred percent sure the calibration was successful and those legs could be as flexible and articulated as a contortionist’s limbs.

Which made sense, since no one could walk with a screwed up leg, but given the conditions, it was hard for Gavin to think reasonably, not after all he went through, two infernal weeks that almost felt like a year.

There was still a sense of detachment and surreality about seeing the android finally back with him, immediately crouching on his heels and tending his hand to the cats for them to smell him as soon as they walked into the house, LED shining blue in what undeniably reassured him that maybe things were finally going to be okay.

Arsehole gave him a puzzled look, wary as he tiptoed on his paws to him and sniffled his fingers, probably thrown off by the scent of evaporated thirium on them, but Nines didn’t seem worried about that, not when he saw Gavin head for the kitchen and return after a while with a plastic cup filled with what looked like gelatinous blue gooey with whipped cream on top of it.

He tilted his head, studying the treat as the detective landed on the couch next to him, back awfully creaking against the cushions as he sheepishly offered him the cup and a spoon.

«I know you don’t have a stomach or so, but Tina told me there’s a place near her home that sells flavored thirium-based stuff like this. Since you need to replenish your levels and you loved the strawberry things at the restaurant we went to back then, I thought...», waving his hand, he opened the lid for him, cogs clicking in his mind as his stare shifted from the spoon and the cup he was holding to the only available arm the android had.

Nines was giving him a timid grin as Princess curled onto his lap, the pristine dark jeans now getting white and black fur all over them, but what he hoped passed as a temporary moment of embarrassment actually had the detective frown, a deep inhale as he avoided his gaze and actually stared at the missing arm, guilt tightening his stomach in a vice.

Frowning, Nines poked his cheek with his nose, now moving the detective’s strand of hair from his face as he gave him a peck on the stubble: «Feed me?».

Gavin returned him a dumbfounded stare, heartbeat spiking as he looked at him like a deer in headlights.

In the past two weeks, he had lost his immunity to the android’s sly flirting and he wasn’t certainly expecting him to be so touch-starved, sappy, and cuddly ten minutes at home already, as he now looked at him expectantly, face coloring cerulean as his LED flickered amber, every moment of silence on the detective’s side a doubt piling on his mind, wondering if something happened in the last fourteen days that maybe made him reevaluate his commitment.

Gavin sucked on his lower lip, the unstoppable rosy blush now spreading all over his face as he turned on his seat to face him.

«S-Sure», he stumbled on his words and internally hoped he didn’t look half as eager as he actually was, antsy as he took a scoop of the thirium pudding and gently guided it to his mouth, spoon barely trembling under his nervous grip.

Nines’ mouth corners curled into the semblance of a content grin as the flavor hit him, and for the first time, Gavin actually heard him hum in satisfaction, like a child discovering chocolate for the very first time.

He licked his lips, collecting the tip of smeared whipped cream on them, and suckled it off his thumb, LED circling in hues of blue as he seemed lost in computing, analyzing every sensation about the new food he was tasting.

Gavin looked at the clean scoop, trying to distract himself from that sight.

_God_ , if he had to name a moment he hated being a human, _that’s it_ , that would have been one.

Nines had just returned and wanted to enjoy a wholesome and intimate meal and here he was, spoiling it because his only brain-cell decided to focus on those lips and stain that pure moment with his horniness, thoughts from their time spent together two weeks before now taking over his mind.

He cleared his voice, desperately trying to get a grip on himself.

«Is it good?», he took another scoop, this time abounding with the whipped cream, since the android seemed to like it, «I’d, huh, taste it myself but I don’t wanna drop dead on the ground. Though the look seems appetizing».

Nines gave him a curious stare.

His HUD wasn’t certainly making a good job at ignoring the evident signs of arousal coming from the detective, but if nothing, it was endearing and reassuring how much Gavin still desired and wanted him, and yet ignored his needs just so he could dedicate all himself to spoil and pamper him.

With a sketched smile, he gently offered his fingers to keep the trembling spoon steady.

«It’s difficult to describe what it tastes like. It’s probably what you’d call sweet and… sour?, I guess? I love the feeling on my sensors, it’s sending them buzzing like those pop candies you told me about once! I wish I could eat more things like this».

Gavin chuckled, basking in the happiness the RK900 was radiating, hand now caressing Princess’ back and straightening her fur, the purr loud in the background as the android waited, his back relaxed against the sofa’s cushions, just for the detective to feed him another scoop as he kept his lips agape.

«Well, would you look at that? I would have never imagined you’d have a sweet tooth».

There was something tender in the dumbstruck silver gaze he was being returned as if Nines had never thought about it and just found out about something absolutely astounding and unexpected about himself.

He flattened his lips, letting the thirium compound melt into his mouth as his LED shined yellow.

«You think I do, Gavin?».

«Well, you like strawberry-based stuff and kissed me more than once after I ate glazed donuts with the pretense of checking my sugar levels. You never did it with anything else, especially when I’m having black coffee, so I’d guess there’s a preference here. Either that or my breath smells».

Nines huffed, fingers grazing the unkempt chestnut stubble as his cheeks slowly turned of the same shades of the thirium pudding: «I don’t perceive smells and tastes like humans do so I don’t really have a saying in the matter of your morning halitosis. But, if you let me, I’d pretty much love to do a quick check, just to make sure everything’s in order and your stomach and digestion are working fine».

«So much beating around the bush for a kiss, huh»

«You do play hard to get, _detective_ ».

Gavin ironically scoffed, setting the half-emptied treat on the coffee table as he cupped his face between the calloused palms, tenderly smiling at the doe eyes the android was giving him, melting in affection.

For once, he was dead envious of the cat for taking the spot he very much would have loved to occupy on the android’s strong thighs.

«If you want to get some valuable information on my health state, now’s the time, big boy».

«Well then, with permission».

Nines huffed and very much to his surprise, Princess jumped off his thighs in an annoyed meow as Gavin gently stroke the jeans’ fabric, fingers sinking into the sturdy chassis as he draped his arms around his neck and strongly hugged him, forgetting about the kiss for a moment and just egoistically enjoying the warmth of the embrace, reclaiming what he was too shy to ask for when Nines earlier woke up.

There was no objection on the other side, no reprimand as the android’s warm palm just stroke his back, soothing and massaging it in circular and heartening motions, sliding through his spine, from the cervical vertebrae down to the sacrum, feeling his soulmate’s shoulder blades, as if Nines’ himself couldn’t believe Gavin was really there, and his sacrifice successfully saved his life from certain death.

Keeping his eyelids agape, he took a sigh as he initiated his cooling routine, abandoning himself to the fullness and happiness coming from that moment of pure affection.

Gavin was human, and his reactions couldn’t be hidden or turned off like androids could, deactivated or reactivated at needed.

Yet, despite his body blatantly exhibited signs of sexual arousal, there was nothing lustful about the way he desperately climbed to him at that moment, arms holding and grasping his torso into a strong and unrelenting hold, chest rising as he inhaled his scent, despite aseptic and still reeking of the alcoholic smell of thirium, nudging his scarred nose against his neck, no different from a cat rubbing the head against the owner.

There was little Nines could do if not now holding his chin, and gently lifting it to brush his lips, kiss them gently and delicately as Gavin could savor the aftertaste of whipped cream and strawberry on the android’s rosy lips, a little huff of satisfaction for the RK900 as he could feel the detective slowly grind onto his leg, just like during their undercover missions, peppering with kisses his cheeks as he let his lips speak the words he still dared not say.

Gavin sighed, but unexpected to Nines, there was no happiness in his strained gaze.

Deeply frowning, he couldn’t help but drag his palm to the right side of the torso, the missing arm a grim reminder of what had happened, as he now let his fingers slide along the shirt’s black cotton fabric down to the sleeve, so focused in thoughts that he didn’t even notice Nines calling for him until the third time.

«Gavin... are you okay?».

«I.. uh...», licking his parched lips, he let go of the cuff now, resting his hand against the shirt, right on top of the thirium pump regulator, feeling the underneath whirring and buzzing, «I’m...».

No, _he wasn’t_.

«Yeah... Everything’s all right. Sorry for spacing out, I guess ‘m just a little tired».

He slouched against him, head resting on the right shoulder as he held the missing part of his torso, dirty hair spreading dandruff on the black fabric.

_What was he doing?_

Nines had been two weeks in a coma and lost his limbs and his soul-marked arm because of him, and he had the guts to almost jump him? Kiss him and get a goddamn hard-on because of that?

He should have been so bastardly better than that.

He should have taken care of him without even thinking of something so sly, like making advances or actually laying a finger on someone that risked his damn life just so he could breathe and be near him at that moment.

_God_ , he felt so disgustingly miserable.

He didn’t deserve him.

And sure, maybe Nines wanted to kiss him, but that didn’t mean it had to turn into something sexual.

Maybe he just missed him.

It didn’t help that the android was now giving him that confused look as if for once he was the one wondering what was going on in his head.

Clearing his voice and holding back the tears now stinging his eyes, he took a deep breath, hoping it could help with restraining his suffering, repressing the need to cry just like he wished he could do at that moment with his feelings.

Sinking his teeth into his lower lip, he turned on his back and fetched from the coffee table the half-emptied thirium treat, forcing a smile onto his face, no matter how beaten and devastated he felt.

After all, there was no way Nines could feel that now that he didn’t have his arm anymore.

«Gavin–»

«Finish your jelly thingie?», Gavin cut him off before he could be called out on his mood, slightly tilting his head as he offered a full scoop, «Wouldn’t want it to go to waste, since you like it so much».

Nines looked at the spoon, but there was no pleasure in eating when he was getting that stare melting in desperation and hopelessness, when he could tell his soulmate was on the verge of tears. And no matter what, that silence and those withdrawn words hurt deep to his soul, bearing the consciousness that after all they went through, Gavin wouldn’t still trust him enough to open up and confide in him.

Diligently eating up, he tried to make out the most of the fact that his thirium levels were replenishing and he got to feel the sugary after-taste on his sensors.

Sure he would have preferred to feel the detective’s kisses on his lips, but Gavin didn’t seem in the mood for any of that, and he could at least respect his desires.

Letting himself be fed was something he never thought he’d experience and being taken care of was still worth being treasured in his databanks, backups piling up in his permanent memory. And no matter how Gavin seemed blue about it, sometimes he struggled to hold back a chuckle as he noticed how much Nines tried not to bite too hard onto the spoon or avoid clicking his teeth against it.

«Here, don’t be so eager»

Certainly, he didn’t expect Nines to clamp the metal so hard to leave his teeth-mark on it when he was fed the last scoop.

Which was embarrassing for the android, to say the least.

He usually didn’t have problems controlling his strength, but... he just wanted to be held, and the more he tried to get closer to Gavin, the more he seemed to drift away, avoid him as if he had regrets over their closeness.

_But that couldn’t be right, could it?_

Gavin was feeding him, caring for him, he embraced him, he spent all his time next to him during his forced stasis and they made love in the car _that night_ and–

By rA9, that constant state of uncertainty was becoming _frustrating_.

«Hum, I don’t want to spoil the mood or anything but I have to be honest here Nines. It’s probably been a week since I last had a shower and, I, huh… I should really do something about it...», Gavin frowned, shifting his weight on the android’s thighs as he stroke his neck, fascinated by the fact that the moles were disappearing under his touch, an affectionate feature he very much missed in the last weeks and never grew tired of witnessing.

He bit the inside of his cheek and mustered enough courage to meet his steel eyes, icy gaze now curiously studying his behavior, patiently waiting – _as always_ , for him to elaborate on his feelings. Rolling off his legs, he awkwardly stood up, fixing his pants to conceal as much as he could the fact that he was popping a chub, now flustered and heading for the hallway.

«Why don’t you, huh, get comfortable in bed. I have a spare pajama in the first drawer of my nightstand... I dunno, maybe pick a movie or something you’d like to watch? After all, I promised you we’d watch something».

Nines frowned, staring at his shoulders as Gavin purposely avoided meeting his gaze, disappearing inside the bathroom and shutting the cats out of the door.

He needed a shower, better if cold.

Nothing should have happened that night, besides cuddling and hugging. He owed him that much, a bed where to rest and safely enter stasis, a hug that could make him feel protected for once from the dangers of the world and from the past that still haunted him but never felt safe enough to share.

Drowning his thoughts under the freezing stream of water maybe would have helped him forget about his erection and cool him down enough to have his mind clear and be a support for Nines without awkwardly making him uncomfortable.

He unclenched his belt, sliding out of the jeans and shirt in one go, throwing all on the top of the closed toilet seat. As he turned the handle, waiting for the water to become initially warm, he peeked at his reflection on the mirror.

_God_ , he was a mess.

This was the person Nines fell in love with?, a mess of a human being with purple eye-bags, scruffy beard, and scars that marked his body like a shitty kid’s patch-work?

It had been a while since he had last seen himself completely naked – _going back and forth from Cyberlife Tower barely spared him any time to wash his armpits and take care of basic hygiene needs_ , but the cicatrices that were etched onto his skin didn’t lie about how many times he had to be patched up and stitched, rarely by surgeons and mostly by himself.

Here there was a bullet mark on the left shoulder, there a diagonal one on the right side of his pelvis for an appendicectomy that almost killed him, followed a deep cut on his right hip, a mole that he had removed a few years before, and memories on his body of the bruises and punches he took as a beating cop, as he made his living on the road for a while.

His emerald eyes trailed to stare at the soul-mark on the right wrist.

_Well_.

At least that was something he could be proud of.

He traced the black ink with rough calloused fingers, a weary sigh escaping his lips.

Throwing the dirty socks and boxers in the laundry hamper, he finally stepped inside the shower, letting the warm water rain onto his skin, giving his aching body the much-needed relief.

With his forehead against the white tiles, water now draining his oily hair, he tiredly reached for the off-brand shampoo and vigorously started scratching his scalp, trying to wash away all the dandruff and grease accumulated in the last week.

If he was going to sleep next to Nines, he owed him at least some self-care and decency.

Grabbing the sponge, he sighed in relief, filling his lungs with the steam rising from the bath floor as it embraced and warmed him, soap foam sliding on his naked body and cleaning the sweat off the hairy pecs, the navel, the layer of fat on his stomach, as his hands and fingers trailed along his skin, lost in thought, drifting lower, until he could no longer ignore his erection and the fact that no matter how cold he was setting the shower handle now, he desperately and shamefully wanted to hold Nines, to kiss his lips and have all of him.

He wanted to feel his heat, the breath-taking kisses that almost took all the oxygen out of his lungs and drained him of all the saliva, sucking onto his tongue and flooding all his mouth with nothing but that sterilizing analysis fluid.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he conceded that _maybe_ getting his rocks off wouldn’t have hurt anyone. He needed a clear mind after all, and there was no way he would have been lucid enough for that with a boner in his boxers all the time.

He trailed his gaze to his erection and huffed as he laid against the tiles, letting go of his nerves for once as he let his fingers gently trace his shaft, eyes closed as he recalled the memories of that night, the lust-driven gaze of the android, his huffed whispers in his ear, the caresses and touches and the blissful face the android made when he played with his wires.

_God_ , Nines was so beautiful when he was unwound, so beautiful when he let go of the shackles that held him prisoner of his own insecurities, and he felt _so bad_ , so wrong for wanting more of him at that moment, as his breath hitched and he felt the desperate need to fasten the pace, slide his hand harder and quicker along his shaft, as the soap mixed with his precum, mind fogging with the memories of the android so naked and so beautiful for him, so blissfully desirable as he retracted his skin and showed him his chassis, so irresistible as his back arched under his touches, as he glitched with every pulled wire.

He ran one hand around his nipples, twisting and pinching the hardened tip as he palmed his stiff erection, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes and rut his closed fist with more intensity, pace fastening as he could feel drawing closer to the climax, merely a few steps from it, as he toyed with his balls, holding back a curse and keeping his lips sewed as he focused on those eyes filled with him, that mouth kissing him shut with their every argument, and– _oh_ _God_ , _yes, yes..._ _he was almost there_... _!_

He bit his lip, massaging the reddish glans under the water, barely holding back a moan as he could feel himself gasping for relief.

Just a little more, he was _almost_ there, _almost_ –

«Gavin, I searched for your pajamas but it feels wrong to wear them when I’m still dirty and bear traces of thirium on my chassis».

Gavin choked a whine, sinking the teeth into his lower lip as his legs trembled, his orgasm hitting with the precision of a Swiss clock as soon as he heard Nines’ voice coming from behind the curtain, unrelenting opening the bathroom door as if he didn’t just walk in while he was wanking his junk off thinking of him.

Covering his now panting mouth, he struggled to calm down his ragged breath, knowing damn well that his tachycardia and the fact that there were probably traces of his misdeed on the tub floor were a dead giveaway, no matter how fast he tried to cover them up with his feet and make the now dense liquid swirl down the drain.

His spiking anxiety didn’t help with his situation, and by his silence, Nines must have caught up that something wasn’t right.

«Gavin, are you okay? I know you told me not to scan you but your heartbeat is unusually high and your breath is–»

«Y-Y-Yeah! I’m good, I’m fine!, absolutely fine!», he pulled the curtain enough to pop his face out of it, water dripping from his still soapy hair and cheeks flushed red, «I, huh, may have turned the water too hot and almost fell asleep to that. I, huh», he gulped, throat dry as he tried to avoid the fact that he was still half-hard and had to calm down before he could give away what he had actually been doing, «I’ll be out in a sec, just need to catch my breath! What are you even doing here? I thought you were getting comfy?».

«I told you, but I guess you didn’t hear me the first time»

Nines unbuttoned the shirt’s high collar, LED spinning yellow as he struggled with undoing all the buttons and push the clothing over his head, now proceeding to slide off the pants.

Well, doing things with one hand was surely uncomfortable, but he was lucky enough he didn’t have the inconvenience of being exclusively left or right-handed. This still didn’t hold him back from wishing his arm would be back soon, because there was something deeply impractical and inefficient about having to do everything without.

«Despite Kamski fixed me, he didn’t care too much to wash me properly, and I can still see the residuals of debris and thirium on my body, despite it evaporated a few hours after the accident. I think it’s not hygienic for me to sleep in your bed dirty, and since you’re already taking a shower, the most logical thing to do would be to economize and just wash together».

Gavin blushed to the top of his ears, but he wasn’t fast enough to cover himself as Nines opened the curtain and just stepped in, and _God forbid him_ , if he hadn’t just cum, he would have done so now.

Nines was usually respectful of his boundaries but after they came home, it suddenly felt like he didn’t give a single care in the world anymore. Which wasn’t bad per sé, but he still felt like the android had little to no conscience of how irresistible he was in his eyes, especially as he now invaded his personal space, naked and beautiful, moles all over his body, freckles on the left shoulder and thighs so beautiful and firm.

Stepping back a little, Gavin tried to make room for him, hoping he wouldn’t go scanning the shower for... _stuff_.

He just gave him an enthralled look, mesmerized by the way the water drops drenched his dark hair, his strand now plastered to his forehead.

«Hey, shouldn’t you cover your arm? You’re not going to short-circuit if water gets there, right?».

Nines grinned, unfazed by the way the water just went into his eyelids. It was in moments like that the detective was reminded he wasn’t human if the insulated wires from his torso and the joints to set up the arm weren’t enough evidence.

«No need to worry. I’m waterproof, so there’s no risk associated with it», Nines took a step closer to him, shortening their distances as he nudged his neck, kissing the clavicle and rubbing the foamy hair, «You’re still soapy, Gavin».

Gavin held back a sigh, trying to ignore the fact that Nines was awfully close, so close he could probably smell the testosterone off his skin and deduct what he was up to before he joined him. Humming silently, he tried to slyly distance his hips, at least enough to avoid brushing the android’s resting dick – _he knew himself too well and he wanted to avoid making things weirder than they actually were_.

He was actually surprised he was still wearing the component and Kamski didn’t take it off during the fixing intervention.

Who was he kidding? That huge ass pervert probably laughed his ass off of the fact that it was recently used. Damn, he was the one that designed it for Nines’ personal use and benefit, of course his ego would be fueled by something like knowing his creation used an 8” magic baton to dick the most hated detective of the entire Detroit Police Department.

Sighing in resignation, he leaned his head against the android’s chest, ear now listening to the loud thumps of his thirium pump, letting himself be lulled by the warm steam coming from the shower, the soft embrace of the water, and Nines’ chin resting on the top of his head.

It was actually the first time in a while he had heard the beating of his heart instead of the usual fans whirring.

Nines let his palm hold the human’s nape against his body, curling his hair around the slender fingers as he felt the stream wash the soap away.

He wasn’t certainly expecting Gavin to suddenly break the hold and avoid his stare, now focusing all his attention in the sponge’s holes as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen that day, dragging the soap on his chassis as if he was merely completing a task, avoiding to breach the right side of his body and instead focusing on cleaning the left arm and torso, tentatively and with wavering eyes.

For someone touch-starved and always clinging to him like the detective, that was sure an anomalous display of behavior.

Yet, he couldn’t put past him that _maybe_ his intuition was right.

Raising his fingers to the soul-marked wrist, he gently stopped his hand, snapping Gavin out of his self-absorbed thoughts, as his amber LED suddenly shone under the water.

«Gavin... I’m sorry», he inhaled a breath, the steam coming from the shower not helping with his desperate need to cool down. For once, his thoughts were running faster than his preconstructions, worries ahead of his own words.

There was something indecipherable in the verdant stare the detective was returning him, something that navigated between confusion, indignation, rage, and sadness. But he had to get it off his chest before the human could storm into his usual rants.

«It’s because of the arm, Gavin, isn’t it?».

Gavin’s sewn lips suddenly parted, and for once, he felt like he could finally open up.

What was the point of keeping everything for himself?

Last time he did, he couldn’t even voice his feelings for Nines.

He had to do it right, at least for him. No time to hold back, to keep his worries shut. He had enough of hiding under a rock and pretending someone else would have taken care of that for him.

Pressing his stretched palm against his torso, he kissed the regulator, now laying his forehead on the skin, content with the way it retreated as always, showing the chassis underneath, cyan hues so comforting and pleasing to look at, a show of lights he never grew tired of.

«I didn’t want to bring it up at first, Nines, and I’m sorry. I should have done it since I–».

Nines winced, but the sting of pain Gavin suddenly felt deep to his soul mixed with the prickling and itching sensation he was feeling at the corner of his eyes was nothing good in his register, not as he lifted his chin and met now the saddened gaze of the android.

«I knew it, Gavin. But you don’t have to apologize for it», letting his hand drop from the detective’s nape, the android tilted his head enough to give him a lopsided grin, «I’m not blaming you if you’re finding me repugnant now that I’m missing my arm. I... agree I barely look human, and I’m well aware of this, so I don’t blame you if you just want to... avoid me for the time being. At least until they fix me».

Gavin stared at him dumbfounded.

“... _repugnant_?”, the words barely escaped from his lips in a whisper, but no matter how hard he stared into the android’s eyes, Nines wouldn’t speak a word, waiting under the water, LED now stuck on burning crimson.

Each passing second of silence felt as if the detective had just given him a punch in the stomach.

Gritting his teeth, Gavin sneered and shook his head, fists clenching as he pressed the tip of his index against his sturdy chest, poking the chassis and blatantly ignoring the fact that it still hurt like puncturing a concrete wall.

«How dare you say that», his words were venomous, a snake spitting poison, «You take that back now. What you just said is an offense to all the amputees worldwide, ya hear me?!».

Nines blinked, and for once he could swear he had nothing to say in response.

«What kinda crap are you even on?! Who are you even taking me for?!, a person who only cares about looks?, and that’s all that it matters? Did you genuinely think that losing a limb would make me think of abandoning you in the middle of a street like some kind of motherphckin’ insensitive bastard?!».

«I-I’m–»

«No, you shut up now and let me do the talk! I haven’t spent fourteen days of my life waiting for you to wake up just so you could come here and tell me I can ditch you until you look ‘ _human_ ’ again! I don’t give a flying phck about what you look like! You’re my soulmate! I’m lucky enough I found you after a goddamn life!

I’m not pissed off because you lost your arm and, boo-hoo, poor me, I can’t deal with seeing something that’s not “aesthetically pleasing” or what.

Did you see me, Nines?! I’m a mess of scars and half of them, I stitched them up myself!

I’m a motherphckin’ patchwork done by a drunk granny, but for some reason, you love this walking bag of trash! And you dare think I care about looks?!».

Nines LED spun red, as the detective’s angered words slowly sank in.

«Yet... every time you look at me, you...»

«Oh, so what, I cannot feel guilty over that?», Gavin groaned in exasperation, gesturing at the missing arm, «I was the cause for it! I was a jack-ass and you almost died to protect my sorry ass! It could have been avoided if I had just decided to listen to you instead of phckin’ up as always!

What if you died? Dipshit, didn’t you think of that?!

You’ve been two entire weeks out! You could have died because of me! How would I even live my life knowing that the only person in this world that ever loved me was dead because of me?! How could I ever show my face to Tina, Connor, Sixty, Hank, or anyone in the Department without knowing damn well that the person they loved was gone because of my stupidity?!».

Nines took an unnecessary sigh, and as he embraced his waist with his only arm, he pressed his palm against the detective’s shoulder blades, dragging him closer to his chest, now kissing the top of his head: «Gavin... if I didn’t save you, you would have died. Your survival chances were below 5%. The impact would have killed you on the spot. You would have never made it out alive».

He could feel the shiver that ran on the detective’s spine, yet he purposely decided to ignore that. It wasn’t like he could expect Gavin to understand his reasoning. No matter how humans pleaded to be the most rational beings in the animal realm, their line of thinking obeyed laws that were nothing but chaos most of the time.

Especially when it came to the detective.

«And what were yours».

Tilting his head, he didn’t even realize Gavin had asked for his attention.

«...What?»

«You fried your audio processors?», his stare was unforgiving, his lips furrowed in a pout, «What were your chances since you deemed them high enough to do that».

Nines’ lower lip trembled, an unmistakable quirk of his nervousness.

«Eight».

«Eighty», Gavin hopefully corrected, but hearing only silence from the android, he just shook his head, hitting the forehead against his firm chest, ear plastered to hear the thirium pump, still miraculously beating, «You son a bitch. You didn’t even..».

Words dying on his lips, he strengthened the hold around his torso, squeezing the chassis.

«You bastard, you made it out alive out of pure luck. Don’t pull that shit at me ever again or I’m going to come back from the dead just to kill you myself».

Nines kissed his forehead, taking a moment to admire the beautiful spectacle his human was, the drenched hair sticking to his forehead, the weary gaze, and the wet lips so kissable and so full.

«Maybe let’s just focus on avoiding the next time, okay? I don’t want to renounce to you now that you admitted you’re my soulmate».

Gavin embraced his neck, bringing his arms around it as he stood on his tiptoes, brushing his lips until the android caught on the drill and kissed him back.

«Pff... you’re a jerk», letting the RK900’s tongue dig his mouth, he contently hummed in the kiss, sucking on the viscous saliva now dripping down his chin and mixing with the water.

He couldn’t help the moan of contentment as he felt the aftertaste linger on his tongue, licking his lips eagerly.

«You’re tasty today»

Nines’ cheeks tinged blue as he tried to make sense of the detective’s words: «Tasty as in...?».

«Well, you’re always a snack to me, but today you taste like strawberry. ‘s weird, but I like it»

«Oh, I see», his LED spun yellow, cheeks blushing at the compliment, and he could tell by analyzing the residuals in his bloodstream that Gavin wasn’t technically wrong, «I’m positive the chemicals from the treat I consumed earlier mixed with my fluids, giving it that taste. It’s probably a transient effect, but I’m glad you seem to enjoy it. We both seem to agree strawberry is a good flavor».

Gavin slid his tongue in his mouth, eagerly sucking on his lip, chuckling as he felt the android’s hand gently tug his hair, the glitch he so missed now breaking his voice.

«Whilst I love your kisses and would spend all the night doing so, I still need to ask you a f̵̙́͛̊́̇̿å̵͔̰̽v̵̙̳̳̙̓̅͝͠ȍ̶̹̦̓̑̀͝r̷̨̫̫͙͍͙̋̍», now giving him his pretty doe eyes, he barely could hold back the blush on his cheeks, spreading like oil, «Could you wash my body? A few people have been working on it and I don’t like seeing their fingerprints all over my torso and leg. I... have a preference for seeing only yours».

Gavin scoffed, holding back an embarrassed smirk.

«You sap», he soaped the sponge, giving him a peck on his chin, standing on his tiptoes, «Well then, just turn around. It won’t take too long».

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little disclaimer! This chapter was originally longer but I had to split it in two because it would have been more than 20k at once! Worry not, the next (smutty) part is coming up either on the weekend or on Monday!  
> Thanks to all of you precious folks for your patience and for staying by my side on this journey. I promise you won't be disappointed 💖💖💖  
> I can't stop thanking everyone for the lovely comments (I READ ALL OF YOU, YOU MAKE MY DAY, YOU ARE A BLESSING, GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERY TIME I GET THE E-MAIL WITH THE NOTIFICATION OF YOUR COMMENTS MY HEART SKIPS A BEAT 😭😭😭😭😭😭) and thanks to all of those who gave kudos and bookmarked the story!!!! YOU'RE ALL DEEPLY APPRECIATED 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕  
> AND HERE'S A BUNCH OF KUDOS TO PROVE HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU ALL 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
> 
> See you in the upcoming days for the next part!! 💕🍓


	11. // PARTITION 11 //

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a hot shower, Gavin and Nines finally enjoy some intimacy. This chapter is completely NSFW. Enjoy 💖

# Accident

#### \\\ PARTITION 11 \\\

He had no right to have such a good ass.

And maybe he should have minded his own business and just avoid thinking about it, but when he moved to wash Nines’ back, draping the sponge all over the strong shoulder blades down to the firm loins, his round ass was there – _ and no matter if the skin was retracted or not _ , there was a full, amazing show of his moles and freckles on the back, from the perfect, curved spine to the viewable and recently repaired neck-port, down to those breath-taking cheeks,  _ oh  _ so smooth and hard.

He... certainly wasn’t expecting to see a creak between them.

That ass was sure as hell a bait for his eyes, but he never expected it to be  _ this  _ accurate to the real thing. If every RK prototype was built with a hole or if Nines installed it in a second moment,  _ maybe the same day he installed his weiner _ , was something he didn’t want to think about at that given moment – _ just to avoid other embarrassing and unneeded boners _ .

No time to fantasize about that.

And of course, he forgot about taking a new towel before stepping into the shower, so he had to move the mat with his feet to walk to the cabinet to avoid getting water on all the tiles.

Nines stared at him in amusement – _ no doubt enjoying the sight of his ass _ , looking at his struggling without even saying anything in retort. And how could he? The phcker was physically incapable of feeling cold when it came to little temperature changes like these.

In the end, it was already late by the time they got to the bedroom, and Gavin couldn’t help but throw himself on the mattress, sighing in relief as he rolled on the soft memory foam, enjoying the eased strain on his back.

«Love of my life, how have I missed you».

He hugged his pillow, grinning as the android awkwardly sat on the other side, confused about what to do.

«Well, look at you, all propped up in my pajamas. You’re so cute. Blue is really a pretty color on you».

As the android stared at the full-length mirror in the room, he couldn’t help but notice how little the pajama short-sleeved shirt was on him. If he kneeled or bent, his back would have probably peeked through, and the shirt did a poor job at hiding his tight boxers, maybe showing more than necessary.

During that night, he had to kill the process for his erection more than once to avoid awkward situations in the shower. It was becoming a struggle, with the  _ capital S _ . After all, he sure wanted to spend a wholesome night with Gavin, just watching movies and enjoying the closeness but he couldn’t deny he very much wä̶̱͍̞̝́n̸̢̘͖̻̑̕t̷̘͓̝̮̔ed him.

His wires still ached for a touch.

And keeping a straight face when he blatantly saw the traces of semen in the bathtub and could smell the hormones perspiring from the detective’s skin wasn’t helping.

Everything about Gavin was erotic.

The scars that traced his skin were enchanting and his rapt stare was so mesmerizing that Nines often wondered how rational it actually was to love so much a person, to feel his own thirium pump race crazy every time those pupils dilated at his sight, every time the detective sighed and held back onto his instincts as he looked at him.

He couldn’t physically feel his skin burn, save from the wrist where his soul-mark used to be, but Gavin made every part of him ache with need.

Gavin made his heart race, he sent his preconstruction software haywire with demos of things he wanted to do, lewd flashes of having intercourse or amorous exchanges in the most uncommon of places, visions of slamming the detective against the shower wall, getting on his knees and sucking him dry, mixed with lustful thoughts of being smashed against the sofa and taken with no further ado, anticipating the sensation of Gavin’s fingers,  _ oh  _ so rough and thick, breaching his neck-port and toying with his insides, pulling his wires as he split his cheeks and roughly slipped inside him…

He wanted  _ so bad _ .

And knowing that his desire was reciprocated, that the detective craved him despite his current condition, was leaving him needing more than gentle caresses and timid kisses.

The fact that Gavin was now wearing nothing but a pair of elastic and revealing boxer shorts was not helping. Too bad he was also wearing a green top with the picture of a leaf of marijuana and the writing “ _ Jesus take the Weed _ ”.

But that was the person he fell in love with and he wouldn’t have changed that for anything in the world.

«Lookin’ at the merch, babe?», Gavin teased him, rolling on the mattress as he embraced his waist, fingers tapping his chassis in an old nervous habit, «I’ve got an orange one with the writing “ _ Finding Emo _ ”. A blast from the past, but it would look good on you. Though you’re so pretty that everything would».

Nines’ mouth corners curled into the semblance of a smile, and as the human let go of him, he couldn’t help but intriguingly scan his actions as he started fixing the pillows against the bed’s wooden headboard, now resting his back against them and patting in front of his legs for the android to accommodate, «Well, come here and get comfortable. It’s cuddle time».

«C-Cuddle...».

A cyan blush spread over the android’s cheeks.

He cradled on the cotton sheets, trying not to give away how eager and touch-starved he was for some contact, and he awkwardly found his place between his legs, resting the nape on his chest and enjoying the heartbeat he could hear as he stood so close to him, sharing the heat and letting his body be embraced by Gavin, hairy forearms now draping around his torso and securing it against his chest.

Gavin gently let the chin rest on his clavicle and seldom gave him a kiss or two, just to stare in amazement at the skin retracting.

Humming, Nines slouched in the hug, taking in all the warmth, as his LED whirled in blue hues, the kiss on it now coming very much unexpected, as Gavin buried his face on his hair. He reached for the remote under the pillows and, turning on the Smart TV, he skimmed through the options.

«So, big boy? What did you pick?».

«Can we watch a few episodes from Brooklyn 99? I remember Lieutenant Anderson always quoted the series».

Gavin tilted his head, curiously eyeing the android as he kissed his temple.

«Sure, babe. ‘s your call. And Jake Peralta was my gay awakening since his  _ Jizz in my Pants  _ song».

Draping his legs around the android’s torso, he turned off the lights, letting the TV screen be the only thing that enlightened the room together with the blue hue coming from the LED.

One episode suddenly turned in two, then four, and before he knew that, Nines was looking at the screen absorbed in staring, huffing in his own version of a laugh and keeping his lips agape, for once not even wary of his surroundings, just like a child seeing a cartoon for the first time, so enthralled with the episode and with the cases and the unorthodox ways they were solved that he didn’t even notice the cats now jumping on the top of the mattress and curling near their feet nor the fact that rain started pouring loudly outside and now hitting the windows.

He didn’t proffer a word; he just stood there, sitting between Gavin’s legs, the hand mindlessly caressing his thigh, and sometimes even forgetting to blink, pupils taking in all the scenes.

And maybe that’s when Gavin realized that despite Nines looked like a man in his thirties, maybe a little younger than himself, he still had been inhabiting that world for less than one year and knew almost nothing about things that humans took for granted, moreover with the fact that he wasn’t designed nor equipped with social modules for that.

He didn’t dare distract him, nor call him out on the fact that he was so focused he even automatically skipped the credits to proceed onto the next episode. Seeing the android so engaged in a task that wasn’t work-related was enchanting, and shame on him if he dared distract his gaze of amazement from the screen.

Snuggling closer, he limited himself to hug the RK900’s strong frame from behind, sticking his ear on his back, chuckling in contentment as he could hear the semblance of a simulated breath, fans whirring and a noise that he once used to hear coming from his desktop case.

He wondered when did his life get to the point where hearing his partner breathe would be something so unnatural. Yet Nines was so caught from the screen, from Jake Peralta’s and Boyle’s shenanigans and Holt’s first appearance, that he barely looked capable of paying attention to anything else.

That could be a good moment to tell him whatever he wanted, right?

Take advantage of the fact that he was focused on something entirely different just to get comfortable with saying those three tiny words, a sentence that sat on his heart for weeks and that now he was striving so much to get out of it.

Checking again on the android, just to make sure he wasn’t distracted, he gently lowered the pajama shirt’s collar, and left a small peck on his nape, kissing the moles on back-port, inhaling the pleasant smell of cheap shower gel.

“I...”, gulping, he tried to get rid of the knot in his throat, lips quivering as he could barely let the words escape his opened mouth, silent voice, and vocal cords tense before he could finally find the strength and the courage to utter those three words.

“I love you”.

What he hoped would be louder, ended up being a whisper barely audible to the human ear.

Considering how unresponsive Nines was, it was highly probable he didn’t hear him.

Maybe that was for the best.

He didn’t deserve such a cheap confession, a mutter that not even his cats would have heard in a range of three feet. And seeing how the android didn’t even flinch nor move his eyes from the screen, it was obvious the guy was still on planet Brooklyn 99.

He could take advantage of that and try once more.

Rubbing the tip of his nose on the port, he gave it another tentative kiss, now nudging the trimmed hair and prickling them with little nibbles.

“ _ I love you _ ”, he brushed his beard against the pale skin, and smiled as the moonlight complexion revealed the so loved chassis beneath, grayish tinges mixing with milky shades and cyan hues, his heart already tightening at the trust Nines irremediably put in him, unconsciously baring himself every time he was gifted affection, “I love this thing you do, sweetheart. No matter what look you have, you’re so pretty to me”.

He gulped, feeling his breath shortening and a rush of desire washing over him.

God, he was really pushing his luck.

At this point, he wouldn’t have been surprised if the RK900 heard him but just purposely decided to ignore him for his own good. He indeed looked caught up with the TV, but there was  _ no way  _ he didn’t notice the burgeoning hard-on Gavin was getting merely by confronting his own feelings, seeing the android’s skin retract and the superficial temperature of his chassis getting warmer.

Nines kept his gaze unmoving, staring at the screen, but there was little the detective could tell about his current struggle, as he kept killing all the processes to move a single muscle or limb, attention span on the episode crashing the moment he felt the brunette’s lips on his nape, teeth nibbling his skin, mouth kissing him good and tongue brushing the back-port, gently and cautiously nudging it as his soft words pampered him, hands holding his waist.

Letting a sigh escape his mouth, Nines desperately tried to initiate his cooling routine, the silent words of adoration and love now stripping him of any residual of attention, his cheeks flushing blue as the night sky, well aware that there was no way Gavin could notice them in the darkness of the room.

Only now did he realize how long he had been distracted and spacing out, noticing he had missed out on the rain pouring down and hitting the windows, the thunderstorm blustering outside, the roaming noise of the clouds, and the smacking of the detective’s lips on his back, hands hugging him, his warm body against his titanium spine.

Letting out an exhale from his agape mouth, Nines allowed himself to slouch in his tender embrace, neck now laying on the crook of the human’s clavicle, head tilting enough to meet those  _ oh  _ so beautiful emerald eyes, irises that looked almost gray under the poor light of the room.

Gavin seemed embarrassed and sheepish as he bit his lower lip, nervousness suddenly taking over him, no different from a child caught with the hand in the marmalade jar.

“...You heard it?”, voice cracking, his words sounded no different from a timid and shy whisper, and it didn’t help him the fact that the android was crushing him with his two-hundred pounds of weight, almost squishing his erection, now poking against his back, “‘m sorry, I didn’t want to distract you. But you’re so... huh...”. Sighing, he scratched his nape, waving one hand in the hope of driving across his point in a faster way, “...y’ know, you’re so–”.

«Pretty?», Nines suggested in a grin, happiness taking over his heart, his thirium pump now skipping a beat at the compliment, and there was no denying he was radiating joy from every faux pore of his skin, «You did say something else, though».

No matter how his lips trembled or how dark the room was, Gavin was red up to the tip of his ears, and there was something fascinating to the knowledge that only he could get to see him like this, so flustered, so irresistible, crimson spread across his face that delightfully complimented the cerulean hues of his own face.

He let his stare meet with the detective’s, enjoying the blush spread like oil all over his face, words stumbling and stuttering, torn whether keeping up his cocky persona or finally letting go of all his defenses, completely baring himself.

He certainly didn’t expect Gavin’s calloused fingers to gently reach for his jaw, interrupt his stream of thoughts and preconstructions and tenderly caress his face, now prompting him closer.

“Come here”, Gavin’s words were a gentle whisper, so low and feeble, porcelain that could crackle into pieces as soon as it was held. Yet, his hold was even more delicate, as his hands ran through the android’s hair and his lips kissed his right ear, “I... love you, Nines. God, I love you so much that I can’t imagine going back to what my life was before meeting you”.

Nines closed his eyes, letting himself be choked by the tight hold around his torso, forcing him into that strong embrace.

If only he could, his eyes would be watering with tears over the happiness of hearing these tiny little three words, his thirium pump picking up the pace as he recorded and listened over and over again to that confession, joy irradiating like the Spring’s warm sun all over his Zen Garden, just like drops of rain quenching the arid ground and parched flowers.

Gavin smelt and felt so good.

He always thought he could never have a real place to call home, a safe harbor to return to. The months spent entering stasis at Lieutenant Anderson’s and Connor’s place had always been a temporary solution, and it was nowhere near the concept of ‘ _ sleeping _ ’ Gavin tried to introduce him to.

But this?

The cats resting near the bed’s footboard, the nice smell of lavender fabric softener of the sheets, the argan off-brand shampoo that perfumed the detective’s skin and the occasional greasy smell of his cute?

That was something he could finally call home.

That place between his arms, those kisses that tasted of bitter coffee half of the time, of toothpaste or just take-away food, and that raspy and cocky voice that never failed to amuse or arouse him. Those flushed cheeks, that timidity, that sweetness.

_ By rA9 _ , he loved Gavin.

He loved him so much it was incredibly easy to succumb to him.

«Nines».

He couldn’t believe he actually spaced out as the detective’s fingers stroke his lips, kissing him so tenderly he could melt on the spot if only he was able to, pudding under his ministrations, as he got lost in his dilated pupils, so full of him, so blown out they looked like they could eat him alive.

Gavin could have undressed him and taken him now and then, and he would have let him do it all. If things went that way, he would have had zero regrets about it. And honestly speaking, all these tender words, gentle whispers and kisses and nibbles on his port got him in the mood for something, if their shower together wasn’t enough of a clue.

So, it only made sense that the words he got in response were outside all the sceneries he preconstructed.

«Let’s have some rest, okay babe?».

The room lightened in yellow hues as he turned off the TV and snuggled closer.

His audio processor must have been malfunctioning.

Sleeping?  _ Resting... _ ?

His scans didn’t lie.

Gavin was so aroused around him he could barely keep his breath from fastening, deep and profound sighs as he realized his condition and desperately tried to hide it. These calloused and so thick fingers were still lingering on his lips, and even if he was no gambler, he would have bet all his few savings that there was no way the detective would have been able to sleep in that situation, sporting a hard-on, drops of precum already staining the black elastic and tight boxers fabric and erection pressing against the cloth, desperately aching for a touch or some friction.

If this was really the detective’s decision, he would have complied.

But he wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

Nothing could have eradicated from his mind the thought that Gavin was holding himself back out of concern, out of the belief that only because he missed an arm, he deserved a delicate treatment.

Now leaning in, Nines met his lips with a sloppy and wet kiss, reclaiming that rough mouth for himself, holding onto the human’s shoulder to keep his balance, nose initially bumping into his face before he could regain some control over his position.

_ There was no chance in this world he was going to let him go _ .

Gavin huffed in a laugh as he felt the android’s haste and eagerness, and held his chin as he kissed him good, sucking on his tongue, meeting it, rolling his own over the android’s frantic movement, as the kiss turned wetter and hotter, saliva dripping from the detective’s mouth as they both slouched on the pillows.

“H̷̢̳̪͍̊́m̸̱̺̣̆p̶̢̖͉̉̿͝f̵̰̒͠.̵̘̈.̷̖͕͂͗ Gä̷̡͙̠̹́v̶̛̖̥̳͕̔͐͘in...”

Nines’ whine was filled with static as he ground on his leg, bodies touching and intertwining as Gavin shamefully let go of a groan, hands sprayed on the android’s face, pupils so dilated and drunk on desire, something that filled the RK900’s heart to the brim, scoring a point for the fact that, just like his predictions, the detective was merely holding back.

Rolling onto the mattress, he prompted Gavin on the top of his chest, smirking at the sight of these so tight boxers making a very poor job at hiding his bulge, erection now brushing against the android’s crotch, the tip of the briefs now becoming more soaked and aching for release.

«Why you’re so goddamn irresistible», licking his lips, Gavin ground his erection against Nines’ boxers, one hand now moving to pinch his own nipple under the green shirt, biting his lower lip as he locked eyes with him, «You always wanna test me, Nines. Push my limits until I can’t take it anymore. That’s beyond playing hard to get».

Nines dragged him down on him, inhaling his scent and baring his neck for the detective to kiss it, letting out a sigh of pleasure as Gavin nibbled the hard chassis.

«Ă̸͚̥͉̣͗͝h̶͖͛͗̚̚.̸̡̪̖͌̐͛̆̉.̴̣͚̋͊̇.̴̢̤̞̳̎̉̊», his hips rocked, meeting Gavin’s sporting erection, the friction of the fabric exquisite on his component. Perhaps it wasn’t such a mistake, increasing the sensibility of his sensors after leaving the shower, «I play to get you hard, Gavin. That’s, ng̷̼̦̘̤̊͌̿̎g̸͓̈́ḧ̷͚̫̰́̊͝–», his voice glitched in a moan as he could feel the ragged breath escaping from the lips now suckling on his neck, desperately trying to give him a hickey, «..t-that’s difḟ̵̼̰e̵͙̱̳̠̽͘r̶̭̖̦̼͒͆ȅ̴̢̻͜͝nt».

Unbuttoning the collar of his polo-shirt pajama, he bared even better his pristine neck, skin retracted, hoping he would catch onto his proposition if the dim blue light coming from his right temple wasn’t enough to tell.

But no matter how hard he pressed the detective against his body, how he indulged his frotting against his crotch, Gavin would punctually hold back from doing more, avoid coddling him too much, avoid giving him more than sloppy kisses.

And it wasn’t like he couldn’t ask for it, but he had no place to compute and take in all the variables when he felt so overwhelmed.

Bending enough to meet Gavin’s mouth, he held his jaw as he slid his tongue inside once again, reclaiming the taste he so much loved. The detective’s whimpers and groans were music for his processors, and he could hear him chuckle in the kiss as he reciprocated it, a moan barely held back as Gavin eagerly sucked onto his tongue, rolling over it and sucking on it like on a popsicle.

«Mmpf…so sweet and tasty», as their lips parted, Nines looked at him dumbstruck, as he could feel a thread of dense saliva, mixed with his fluid, now dripping from Gavin’s mouth.

He was about to lick it off when he felt his tongue dive in once again, kissing him with such a raw passion and desire that sent his system haywire, wires aching so desperately for a touch, and errors that required desperately to deploy the erection function.

He enabled the process, static escaping his voice box as the detective’s hard-on slid against his boxers once again, grinding on his growing boner and forcing his synthetic lungs to inhale profoundly, fighting the overheating of his systems.

«Gavi̶̠͋́͂̏͠n̶̟̞͗́̉̂̃, what are you ě̶̺͖v̴̘̝͝e̵̺̅ṉ̸̑̊ ̶̢̟͌̚t̸̳͗a̴̠̐̚l̴̖̿k̷̨̾í̷̖͇n̵̪̺̈́̅ǵ̷͕͝ ̸̧̥̈́ạ̵̝͝b̷̘͉̈ö̵̝̱́u̶̩͎͋̚t̶̹͚̆».

Gavin never kissed him like that.

That was  _ his _ technique, draining his mouth dry as if he was reclaiming a swamp, sucking it dry.

He’d never seen him so eager.

His mouth was so full of sensors, that if he wanted he could have reached overstimulation only by a kiss. Of course, it would have been so embarrassing if Gavin found out it would take so little to send him over the edge with a little sensor adjustment, but the detective didn’t seem to care for that at the moment, and as soon as he broke away from the kiss, he was panting, breath ragged as he desperately brought his hand on his bulge, holding it in a tight grip.

«Ah... Strawberry», he laconically added, licking his lips clean, high on pleasure as he sat on his lap, earning the confused stare of the android, «...I don’t care if it’s intentional or not. And don’t get me wrong, I’d be eating you alive even if you didn’t have that aromatized saliva. But you taste so good. God, Nines, I wish you’d know how bad I have it for you if it isn’t clear enough. I love you so much. How am I supposed to deal with this when all I want is just take you here and now?».

“Ẻ̸̤̱͍ḁ̷̀t̵̨̓̍́̚ ̶̨̆̅me?”

Oh,  _ by rA9 _ , he didn’t have to focus on that of all his words, but he was glitching and he never felt so riled up and desperate for something like he was in that moment, consumed by wanton and burned by desire.

His lips were trembling and he could barely hold back the blue flushing now up to the tip of his ears.

Everything Gavin said could have been easily arranged.

It could have been, if the detective didn’t just slouch on him, giving his neck a parting kiss before rolling on the other side of the bed, panting as he draped his hand over his hair, holding onto his boxers even harder, trying to keep a hold on himself, lazily stroking his erection through the fabric.

And he would have said something, he genuinely thought of asking him for the twelfth time that night if he was okay; if there was a reason behind all these controversial behaviors, or why he couldn’t take that step as he did in the car two weeks before, but Gavin was giving him such a look, so full of love, pupils so dilated and full of him, and there was no malice or anger.

In his eyes, he could only see his own reflection, gazing now at the detective’s flushed cheeks, his spread blush, and the fact that no matter how hard he wanted him, Gavin was being very explicit on his priorities.

«I promised you something two weeks ago and I’m not gonna walk outta that promise easily, Nines», crossing his legs and patting the mattress, he nudged for the android to get near him, «There are plenty of times we can do that. But I feel like you deserve feeling loved even like this. Lemme hold you properly, Nines».

Oh.

So it was all about  _ that _ .

Awkwardly giving him his back, Nines rolled on his side, nervousness taking over him. And he knew he should have kept his coolness, he knew he should have acted reasonably, but he couldn’t hold his mouth back from trembling in joy that when he felt the detective’s heat on his back, his body plastering against his spine, adhering to its curve like a foam, warm and reassuring, snatching out of his synthetic lungs an actual sigh of relief.

His LED was hidden from the detective’s sight, its light buried in the pillow, but he still intertwined his slender fingers with the hands now resting on his stomach, holding strongly onto them, buzzing and radiating happiness as he could feel the human’s warmness against his laying body, Gavin’s nose sniffing his nape, their legs tangling, and the very much present excitement that Gavin desperately tried to conceal now bumping against the creak of his cheeks.

There was a mix of passion and tenderness in that shared moment.

Gavin’s breath was heavy with longing and sexual desire, sighs and kisses that peppered his nape, that made him lust even more and physically ache for a touch.

Yet, he couldn’t hold back his contentment as Gavin pulled him against his body.

Nonetheless, he expected him to break the silence first.

«‘m... no poet with words, Nines. You know. Connor told me I’ve always been “ _ Mister semantics _ ” a few months ago, and I think he’s basically right», Gavin huffed on his neck, and Nines could feel the tingling sensation of his puff on the faux skin. Yet he tilted his neck back, just to chase that warmth.

«But... what I’m trying to say is that I know–», he licked his parched lips, trying to find better words for it, «I... have been told you’ve gone through shit, okay? And I’m so desperately sorry that I never thought you... could have had baggage as well. It was so selfish and bastard on my side to think that you never had insecurities, issues, fears... or desires».

Nines considered speaking, but Gavin’s hold was so tight on him, that he thought for a moment it would be better to just let him speak, especially now that one hand left the android’s to travel up to his thirium pump regulator, feeling the buzzing of the component.

«And I know it’s not easy. Trauma is a bitch, it comes back haunting you when you least expect it and drags you down in a spiral of fear and depression. But please, whenever you feel like shit, I’m here. And I know I can’t make up for all you went through. But you don’t need to carry all the expectations of the world on your shoulders, Nines. You don’t need to feel up to every task just because some phcker or your handler with a virtual broom stuck up her ass said that you’re stronger, more resilient, or shit like that. I would have loved you even if you were the last android on the face of this planet. And who gives a phck if what makes you happy is this. If...».

Gavin’s voice broke, tears streaming from his eyes.

«If this sentient walking dump makes you happy. I’ll be here, okay? I’m not blaming you for never speaking up about this, okay? I just want that from now on, you’ll ask me if you are in a pinch. And I’ll be here, holding you, just like now».

Gavin could feel the grip onto his fingers strengthening, but he dared not to say a word as Nines’ tears streamed from his eyes, the room filling with the android’s dry hiccups and nods, as he curled and let himself be held, eyes closed as he could feel all the memories of his suffering hitting him, as his slender and naked fingers climbed to Gavin’s thick ones, synthetic chassis holding onto olive skin.

«Hush, hush...», Gavin’s grip loosened around his retracted skin and he kissed his shoulder, as he slid his hand under the android’s body, enough to show the marked wrist in front of his face, smearing his tears on his neck, «It’s okay, Nines. Let it all go, come on. Ssh, I’m here. See? This is still here. Everything’s fine, baby. You can get through this. We got through this shit, didn’t we? We can get outta everything, love».

Nines heavily gulped, and he silently nodded, internally cursing for once for the fact that he couldn’t physically cry, hiccupping and tilting as he tried to take in all the warmth coming from Gavin, making the most out of his comforting kisses.

Holding back another hiccup, he focused his attention on the soulmark, mind palace examining the deep ink, the fascinating black line being one single thing with the wrist, now gently and sweetly staring at it, not daring to close his eyes, as if one blink could make it disappear.

Gavin’s nose tip was lingering on his nape, huffing ragged breaths, and his teeth grazed his skin, tentatively hovering over the chassis. The sole thought that his canines could leave a mark on him, irremovable scratches on the surface of the superficial plastic layer was enough to send a rush of pleasure and longing desire down his titanium spine.

Disheveled and riled up, Gavin was desperately struggling to hold back onto his desires, body aching with indomitable craving.

And no matter how gentle he tried to keep his feather-touches or how delicate his kisses on his neck were as they trailed lower, venerating his collarbone down to the shoulder, pulling and tugging the pajama polo-shirt; his body didn’t lie nor did the hormone perspiration that Nines could smell all over his skin, few drops of sweat forming on the cute, testosterone and oxytocin oozing in a scent trail, a musky scent that was intoxicating his processors, hard to deal with when he could smell his sexual excitation and feel his terrible attempts at restraining himself, barely keeping his hips from tilting and accommodating the hardening bulge between his cheeks.

Every shiver, every hair of the detective’s strong and scarred forearms raising in rushes of excitement, every deep breath and kiss smacked on his back-port – _ there was nothing that could escape his sensors _ , and if Gavin, being the excellent detective he was on the field, thought he could dig his way out of that night by waiting for him to enter in stasis and then rush to the bathroom,  _ oh  _ he was in the absolute wrong.

He appreciated with all his heart the dedication that Gavin was putting in taking care of him, his resolution in not imposing on him or overstepping boundaries, but they were far beyond that point by now.

And perhaps it was silly of the detective to underestimate that, to really believe holding back onto his needs could be this simple, underestimating that  _ perhaps  _ there was nothing selfish in his desire to hold onto the android if they both wanted the same thing, as they bodies clung to each other, intertwining, legs meeting, rough hands massaging his thighs, waist, and hips sensually grinding against his ass, filling the room with the noise of the detective’s deep sighs, aborted moans as he fought with himself just to keep his rocking pelvis still for seconds, unknowingly earning an embarrassed but yet victorious grin from the RK900.

Skins touching, Nines could feel happiness radiating from his thirium pump as Gavin seemed to chase every piece of complexion and moles disappearing under his touch, hums and moans showering him in acceptance, tenderly whispering soft words of adoring.

As the rain poured outside, loudly hitting the windows, Gavin couldn’t help but focus on the android’s slow and calculated breaths, now almost synched with his own, chest slowly rising with his shoulders as he tilted his head back, in pursuit of the warmth coming from the human’s body, begging for more closeness.

«Nines», tightening the grip around his hand, he brought it to the regulator, chuckling as he could feel the texture under his fingertips switch to smooth plastic.

Sticking to the android like a mussel to a cliff, he peppered with kisses his neck, holding onto his hand as he let his soul-marked one linger on the torso, a sigh escaping his parched lips as he realized Nines was whirring and a glitched moan escaped his mouth when his nails gently scratched where the neck crook was softer, almost human-like.

“Gä̷̞̱͂͘v̸̥̝͓̊̔̒í̴̖n...”, the broken voice was pregnant with what sounded like a desperate plea, a cry that was about to ask for more as Gavin tentatively slid the thick fingers lower, now resting on the cotton shirt, gently circling a nipple.

The response was immediate, Nines’ hips tilting against his bulge, and he barely held back a squeak of pleasure as he could feel his erection waking up, more responsive than before, grinding the tent in his tight boxers against the android’s soft cheeks.

He leaned in, chasing the closeness.

«I love you», voice breaking no different from when he was a teenager, he let his words escape the trembling lips, an exhale now warming the neck-port, arms leaving the android’s torso to slide lower and hold his waist, «I love you so goddamn much, Nines».

Nines sighed, holding onto the tears he would have undoubtedly shed, and huffed as he seconded the grinding motions, squirming in pleasure as his wires ached and itched for a touch, his erection now bulging in his boxers as well.

No matter how hard Gavin imposed himself to sleep, there was no way on Earth he would have been able to close an eye when the android let him grind against him so freely, skin retracting in a spectacle of magic wonder.

And he was crumbling, his patience was unraveling as he intoxicated on the android’s scent, on how desperately he yearned him, stubble brushing onto the bare chassis, snatching a glitched moan out of his tender lips.

«Pl̵̢̆͊e̸̫̪͖͗͌ą̵͓̺͑͆s̷̠̤̊̎͘̚e... m̶̟̏o̷̲͛ŗ̶̒ḙ̵͝...».

And he couldn’t hold back a shiver, not now that he undeniably got Nines to plead.

Holding his waist in place, Gavin ground his clothed erection against him, fabric against fabric, shamelessly wetting it as he bit his lower lips, sharply inhaling in desire. His grip was tight on the android’s hips, and the way Nines now squirmed under his ministrations was a sight to behold, writhing and tensing, throwing his head behind, just like he did when he was pulling and fingering his port weeks before, every reaction so visceral it was difficult to believe it was coming from a born machine.

Yet, every brush of his erection on the creak of his ass was snatching moans so pleased that it was getting harder and harder to resist him.

«Tell me what you want, baby», biting his neck, he let the tip of his nose trace the seams of the port, the room now filling with statics, «Tell me, and I’ll give you all you want, sweetheart. I’m all yours, tin can. You just say the word, and I’ll do what you want me to».

Nines jolted, mewling in pleasure as he heard the sweet pet names, and he couldn’t refrain from sliding his hand behind him, hastily holding the detective’s leg against his body, feeling the erection now against his spread cheeks.

«Ho̴̢̯͍͉̽̏̚l̵͖̪̆̿͌͝d̸͎͔̙̟̈́̅̋ ̴̹̓̒̿m̸̛̝̻͈̿̆͑ȩ̴͖̈͑̐, Gavin», words barely uttered in glitches from his mouth, Nines prompted his hips higher, just to rock against the detective’s bulge, «I want yo̸̧̪̿̊̌u̴̧̬̟̇ ̷͓̱̲͗̉t̷̫͖͛o̸̪̕ ̷̹̭̎ẖ̸̩̰̼̒̎͝o̷̝̥͍͛̈̕̚l̵͕͙͝d me».

«Is that so?», there was no bite to his words, just contentment as he let go of his waist to tug the shirt, «You won’t mind then if I take this off you then, right? I rarely got any chance of kissing you properly under the shower, and I want to see more of your pretty real skin».

He wasn’t certainly expecting the android to jolt into a sitting position, hand smoothly reaching for the edge of the polo-shirt as he hastily took it off and launched it on the chair in the corner, where laid all the clothes the detective had worn in the past week, things he either forgot to put in the laundry basket or he didn’t wear for more than two days.

There was a lopsided grin coming from Gavin now, as he sat giggling at his eagerness.

«Well, so needy to even forget about folding your clothes? Damn, that’s some character development here», chuckling, he removed his shirt as well and threw it onto the pile, now crawling on the mattress to hold the android’s cheek, kissing it tenderly.

Nines huffed, holding back any remarks, and he laid on the pillows, barely whimpering as Gavin ground against him, holding his legs spread, hands sliding from his knees up to the hard thighs, moles and freckles glitching  _ oh _ so beautifully, disappearing and reappearing under his touch as he now toyed with the elastic band of the android’s boxers.

Well, his eyes didn’t fool him: there was indeed something that wasn’t there earlier, and  _ hell _ if the thought of taking Nines in his mouth wasn’t riling him so bad.

The sight of the way that cock was bulging and straining against the fabric was mouth-watering and his fingers desperately itched with the desire to unfold the android under his very fingers, play with his wires and give him head at the same time just to see how long he’d take to reach his first orgasm, how powerful it would hit him, witnessing the android’s sweet face mewling in pleasure and coming undone.

He wasn’t certainly expecting Nines to block his hand when he tried to reach for his neck, blush spread all over his cheeks as he held his soul-marked wrist.

«Don’t, Gavin...», his gaze was now averted, icy eyes embarrassed as they met his, «I don’t want to...  _ yet _ ».

«Yet?».

Nines’ blush reached the tip of his ears as he clicked the bed-lamp on, yellow light mixing with the hue coming from his temple. Pushing on his elbow, he met Gavin’s mouth, embracing his lips, kissing them softly and gently biting them, mouth flooding with the good taste of his saliva.

«Just tou̸̡̻͔͑̈́͑͠ç̶̟͖̓h me», he uttered in a sigh, snatching a sweetened laugh out of the brunet.

«Can’t say I wasn’t going to do that. ‘s hard to keep the hands off of you».

Gavin kissed him, giggling as he let his palms slide on the android’s torso, playing with the rosy hardened nipples, tracing circular motions around the seams of the circular thirium pump regulator, never breaking the kiss and sucking on the tongue as he toyed with the hem of the boxers.

Tasting the strawberry after-taste on his tongue, he hummed and licked his lips clean as he gently slid the android’s underwear down the long, slender legs.

Now sitting between them, he teasingly bit his upper lip, and strongly held the knees spread, admiring the view beneath him.

«My pretty... pretty Nines», letting his hands slide on the slim legs, he watched in renewed amazement as the skin glitched out under his pals, and propped one leg onto his shoulder just to kiss the moles on it, never tearing his gaze away from the android’s gray eyes, flushed cheeks as Nines’ stare blissfully took in the sight of the detective venerating his body, kissing his thighs, tracing his now wetted lips on the skin, and biting and licking it.

Gavin was so vocal that it was difficult to focus on anything else but the feeling of his mouth on his chassis, the tongue draping over it, suckling on the surface, and leaving him dizzy with every over-sensitive sensor triggered.

«If only you could see how beautiful you are right now, Nines...».

And there was no way he was going to survive this, not when Gavin was so keen on complimenting him, now bending over him, kissing his regulator and sliding lower, licking the navel, tongue slipping inside the belly button before trailing his lips on his pubes, fingers gently holding his erection.

«Wish I was twenty again, just to make love to you all night long».

Gavin holding his legs spread open and sitting his head between them was such a heavenly sight to behold.

Sure, he loved the experience of being inside the detective – _ he treasured the memories of that hot and sweaty tightness squeezing him, the pulsating insides squirming at each of his relentless thrust, the moans he snatched out of him with every push _ , but feeling the brunet’s mouth pampering with sloppy and noisy kisses his erection, swallowing it entirely and popping off it in lewd sounds, eagerly sucking on the shaft as if he was giving the best performance of his life for the Guinness World’s Records, was something that wasn’t helping the itching and prickling of his wires nor the constant requests of his software to deploy the lubrication system to his genitalia components.

And he wasn’t certainly expecting Gavin to be  _ this  _ engaged or good at it, as he held the reddish tip of his erection and kissed it good and moist, sliding his humid lips all over the length, raspy moans choking in the engulfing, saliva dripping all over his shaft as he slid lower,  _ lower _ , eating his all down to the balls, gagging but not stopping, as he popped off once again just to collect the trail of sticky saliva mixed with synthetic flavored precum and spit on his balls, now hungrily sucking on them, trembling fingers holding his cheeks spread, as the android’s gaping hole desperately held back the need to feel them inside him.

And, by  _ rA9 _ , he wanted Gavin so badly, and what a blissful show he was, as he gave him head, suckling and licking his balls, one hand massaging them as thick and rough fingers lingered around his hole, teasing the contour as it spasmed under it.

Nines’ moony irises were so enthralled by the detective’s desperate frotting on the mattress, yet he kept his legs spread for him, giving him all of his attention.

«Mmm... You’re so phckin’ big, Nines. I’d love to take you, but tonight’s all about you, sweetheart».

«Ga̴͓̜̱͇̽̔͘v̵̯͎͈̱̈́̉ḭ̶͎̄̆̋͂͜n...»

And it didn’t help the fact that he was getting compliments over it, the fact that there  _ oh _ so lovable fingers were now holding tight the base of his cock, squeezing it once again as Gavin went down on him in one go, his mouth warm, the insides of his cheeks filling with his dick as he sucked with renewed expertise, the soft and leaking tip now touching his uvula, Nines’ eyes rapt as they recorded every second of that show, from the way Gavin’s cheeks stuffed with his erection, to the ajar eyelids, long lashes so focused on the frantic bobbing of the head, the sliding up and down his erection so blissful, his sensors going haywire with the surge of information.

There was nothing else but humming coming from the detective as he moaned and let saliva drip onto the glans, sucking and smearing liquid all over the place.

Sliding over the length, engulfing his girth, Gavin didn’t hold back any sloppy or obscene noise, now letting his nose rest against the android’s pubes, huffing, holding back a gag, before pulling off once again, swallowing in a satisfied smug.

It was undeniably  _ strawberry _ .

That thirium-thing he drank gave all of his fluids the same taste, and that wasn’t helping him. He couldn’t help but notice the look of concern of the android, as he coughed once or twice over the fact that his mouth was indeed sore, and his throat didn’t feel so good after forcing himself to stretch it to accommodate his monster weiner.

His ass would have appreciated it way more than his mouth.

But,  _ oh well _ , maybe another time.

Licking his lips clean, he gave Nines’ dick a tentative pump, chuckling as he could feel the room fill with the android’s moans.

«You screwed up with your sensors, did you? You’re way more sensitive than last time», and he knew he was damn right by the averted look he got in return, aquamarine blush spreading all over the cheeks, «How about I make you feel even better? I want to taste you properly, babe».

Nines huffed, grunting as the detective palmed his balls, fingers sliding towards his hole, and circling the rim with teasing feather-touches.

«This ‘s new, right?».

The android frowned, and there was no way he could hold back from enabling his lubrication function now.

«I installed it the s-same day I inserted the biocomponent #985d. It’s to– ṅ̸͇g̴͉̚g̴̗̓h̸̟͛!».

«Go on, sweets», neglecting for a while his erection, Gavin now spread his hole and gave it a tentative lick, chuckling as his ears filled with the sweetened moans from the android, mewls of instant pleasure and pleas, «What did you want to tell me? I love when you info-dump me. How did you install it? Did you do some calibration? Maybe… played with it a little while, just to make sure it was functioning properly?».

Nines let his head rest on the pillow, legs giving him full access as a finger now nudged his entrance, gently prodding the rim, tightening around his index.

«Ah… You’re so hungry for it».

«I wouldn’t be if you w̸e̶r̶e̶n̷’̴t̸ ̵s̷u̶c̴h̸ ̷ a teaser», reaching for the detective’s hair, he caressed the hazelnut strands as he could feel his hole stretch and wetting, much to both surprise.

«And this comes from the same person that is dripping lube from his ass?», Gavin was giving him a shit-eating grin, looking in amazement at the sticky finger, and God only knew how it was possible he still had a crumble of self-restraint and he wasn’t already completely naked, making love to the android to the point of fucking him senseless, just like he did their first time with the wires.

«This lube is synthesized from the same substance of my saliva», Nines was giving him a look that barely looked pissed, no wonder he took to heart the matter of info-dumping, «This is how I managed to get free back when I was held hostage. My body uses that liquid as a lubricant for my joints, but I can deploy the fluid where it’s needed. It’s highly practical».

Bringing the finger to his mouth, Gavin hummed, now eagerly sucking on it, making a show for the android.

«And you never run out of it?», he tentatively asked.

«I’m sure we have enough thirium bags to replenish my levels, should I happen to be short on it», tilting his head, Nines playfully smirked, LED shining blue, «Which is highly unlikely, but not impossible».

«I see», Gavin gave a peck to his inner thigh, leaning on it as the chassis showed as always, now embracing both of the legs and spreading them for a better view, «Well, then you won’t mind me if I help myself here. This cake won’t eat itself».

«What cake are you talking abou–».

Choking a moan, there was little Nines could do as Gavin’s tongue tentatively licked his hole, fingers stroking his legs as he held them spread wide open, the detective’s brunet scruffy and licked back hair now buried between his cheeks as he traced sloppy circles around the rim, alternating suckling and blowing on it.

Grunting in anticipation, he felt a surge of electricity running over his spine, now making him shiver at the feeling of augmented sensitivity coming from his internal component, clenching in eagerness, his mind palace on the fritz as he ran simultaneously preconstructions of how it would have felt to have that tongue finally inside him, eating him up completely.

And he wasn’t expecting the pleasure to be so enthralling, nor the feedback to be so powerful and intense on his system to make him throw his head so violently against the pillows, burying it on the soft cushions, mewling in statics and broken puffs, skin glitching when Gavin let his tongue slide inside, eating his ass so wantonly, human saliva now mixing with the synthetic lubricant that he was now dripping on the mattress, stubble grazing his skin and hairs tickling his skin as that mouth devoured him like a sweet treat.

LED shining blue, he could admit that for once he was struggling to focus on every sensory input coming from his body, not when the brunet’s ragged and lusting breath was choking on his perineum and the detective had his face so buried in his hole that it was beyond wonder how he still managed to look at him so lustfully, locking stares with him as he dug his tongue even deeper, sucking and kissing the rim, gulping down all the sticky fluids coming from it.

«Fe̷͗ͅê̸͚ls... go̷͕̽o̵͈̐d̶̳̐», Nines tilted his hips and didn’t even realize he was leaking from the tip of his cock, dense precum oozing as the neglected erection twitched with every movement that tongue magically did inside him, prodding his rim, licking so lustfully and hungrily, Gavin’s groans and breaths now music to his processors.

He couldn’t hold back his hand as he reached for the detective’s disheveled hair, threading the slender robotic fingers through the soft strands.

His lips trembled, a quiver that Gavin very much came to love, a distinct signature of the android being nervous or just stilling as he computed what to say or how to say it. Yet, there was no answer as his forehead frowned, head tilting as the touch got gentler.

«Gavin... you’re bē̸͚̞̄a̶̺̱̅̍̽̋u̴̝͕̬͆̌t̸̯̤̪̞͝iful», and even if he wanted to say something more, his words stalled on that, focusing on the scar across the detective’s nose, the scruffy and harmless laugh he got in response, Gavin now leaning on him and kissing his lips, dripping a stream of saliva in his mouth, sharing his findings just so Nines could taste himself, confirm that he indeed was leaking strawberry-flavored lube.

Gavin brushed with a tender touch his erection, snatching a whimper out of the android.

«What did you do, Nines?», there was an edge of teasing to his words as he pampered with kisses his neck, letting his hand slide lower now, palming his balls before the fingers returned to working and circling the rosy rim, teasing the wet and now even more slippery opening, «I’ve never seen you so flustered baby. Not without your wires pulled».

Gavin’s breath was ragged in his ear, and he couldn’t hold back a moan as the tip of the thumb slipped so easily inside him.

«N̵̨̬̬̭̽g̵̝͉̞̾̉̚h̸̘͍̋̂.. I, ah... may have ta̷̠̼̺̍̚͝m̶̹͖͑̕͜p̴̨̙̌̒̌ẻ̸̹͛͜red with my settings».

Blushing cyan, cheeks growing hotter with every passing second, he indeed could feel the increased rhythm of his thirium pump, beatings now fastening in his chest, his HUD filling with information, savoring the sight of the human’s head buried deep between his legs, registering everything, from the racing heartbeat to the dilation of these blackberry pupils in raw and sheer desire, shiny and lusting for him, down to the traces of his own fluids staining Gavin’s body, traces invisible to the human eye but that every android coming across them would have seen and immediately recognized belonging to the RK900’s, just like Gavin’s fingerprints on his chassis, the most precious treasure he could wish for himself.

Gavin was now giving his such a proud smirk, so content with himself, eyes so full of adoration as he leaned to kiss him again, letting his index finger now slip inside his hole and fastly adding the medium, toying with his insides and rotating the wrist gently,  _ oh _ so gently spreading him open.

«Don’t worry. I’ll make you feel good, Nines».

Nines was no human, but his body shivered in anticipation, a discharge of electricity running over his spine, no longer holding in a shameful moan as he tilted his hips, chasing the feeling of these thick digits inside him, soon to be replaced with Gavin’s leaking cock.

«Yes», he finally uttered, grasping his neck, barely holding back another moan as the rough fingers rotated inside him, Gavin’s digits buried deep to his knuckle, slowly,  _ oh _ so agonizingly slowly fucking him, his software recognizing every movement as they prodded and studied his insides, making him squirm with every hit sensor.

And he couldn’t get enough of these emerald irises studying him, pupils so full of his squirming, as the mattress’ sheets unfolded, the cats long gone, and his toes curled, letting the legs spread more to offer him more access.

Gavin was giving him a satisfied look as his fingers worked magic, reaching for deeper points, stretching him open.

«Ga– ä̴̫͚h̴̩͋!»

Nines’ breath hitched, mewling in sweet pleasure, the sole thought of being marked with fingerprints all over his insides, where no one could access him, bearing a trace of Gavin wherever he went, was sweetening to his processors, and no matter how blue his LED flickered, no matter how his skin glitched and retracted, there was nothing but a look of acceptance in the detective’s eyes, lips kissing wherever his skin disappeared, tongue marking him, kisses suckling on his nipples and reverentially devouring him as his digits spread inside him, scissoring him, hitting all these sweet spots that made him squirm and huff, grasping for relief, delaying his orgasm function, ignoring the itching of his wires or the internal heating.

All he could do now was focus on the human’s self-restraint, the wet tip of his boxers, and the bead of whitish precum that was staining them.

Throwing his head backward, he sank the neck on the pillows, trying to scratch his nape onto it, gasping and whining as a third finger now breached his hole, stretching it to no avail.

«Phck... you’re so tight», Gavin’s breath was ragged, eyes so full of him as his chest rose and lowered in deep breaths, clearing his voice as he palmed his erection to give him some relief, «God, I can’t wait to be inside you. You’re so good for me Nines, so good. You’re doing amazingly».

«G-Good...?», he repeated dumbfounded, so enthralled with the look of sheer adoration the human was gifting him, now seconding his slow thrusts inside, each hit sending pleasing feedbacks up to his system.

Gavin smiled at him, so tenderly that his pump skipped a beat and kissed behind his ear, where the skin retreated revealing the seams for the audio processor’s input.

“So good”, his breath was short, and if it was anything to go by, he wasn’t going to last long, “Show me more of your skin, sweets. Let me see how beautiful you are. You’re a work of art”.

Lip trembling, Nines silently nodded, now revealing even a bigger portion of his chassis, catching the genuine smile of the detective, the mouth’s corners curled, the eyes squinting as the calloused palm slid onto his body, revering it like a marble statue, Canova’s work of art.

He wasn’t expecting for his hand to slide on the right shoulder, caressing where the arm was missing.

«I love you, regardless of what you look like».

Sighing, he initialized the cooling temperature procedure as he let the detective’s tongue sneak inside his mouth, drowning in the pleasure of that experience, the other hand still deeply and slowly fingering him.

Lifting the android’s legs, Gavin leaned in to kiss his temple, content with the way the skin retracted there.

Nines was giving him a pleading look, spasming in anticipation as he palmed the detective’s erection through the boxers, huffing in satisfaction as he saw him finally slip out of them, his cock painfully hard, already leaking, crimson glans aching for release.

«Plȅ̶͚̗̂̈́̚ä̵̤̚s̵̝̉͑̐̏e̸̥̮̋̈͗...».

It was the first time he was seeing Nines being so genuinely whiny and needy, so aroused and lusting, but he had to hold back onto his instincts for his sake.

Nines didn’t deserve a quickie, five minutes of pleasure, no different from scratching an itch.

He wanted to give him the time of his life.

After all, that’s what he did their first night together back then, giving all of himself to him, revering his body, making him feel for once in his lifetime desired, appreciated,  _ loved _ . There was no way on Earth he wasn’t going to take it slow.

«I’ll be going in gently. You tell me when it’s too much».

Nines eyes lit up, flushing up to his ears as he spread his legs to give Gavin better access, licking his lips at the sight of the beading tip of his erection, so stiff and twitching, and all because of him.

«Yes».

Gavin leaned onto him, aligning the tip with the clenching hole, huffing as the wet entrance almost made him slip twice, now keeping the thumb over the rim to hold his trembling, «Hold still babe, can’t enter if you squirm so much. Give me some room and relax. I promise it will be alright, and if it’s too much, you stop me».

Letting the palms slide along the torso, he stared in amazement as the skin disappeared under his hands, bringing the android’s palm to his nape as he gently let the glans enter, smiling as Nines panted, the android now biting his lower lip and looking without blinking once at the slow pace Gavin was softly and slowly entering him, sinking inch after inch inside, opening him up, filling his ass.

Nines curled his toes, the more the detective sank in him.

Gavin was a breathtaking sight – _ which was something, coming from a living being that didn’t need breath in order to survive _ , tense from head to toe, shoulders rigid and muscle thighs tensing as he held his hips still, such unneeded delicacy that yet made his heart squeal in contentment and sweetness.

«Phck... so goddamn tight», Gavin let another inch sink, and checked the yellow flickering of the LED, clenching his jaw as he desperately tried to avoid thinking on how hard he just wanted to relentlessly thrust inside him, letting a moan escape his mouth as Nines spasmed around him, squeezing his cock.

Letting his hands reach for the RK900’s neck, Gavin now gripped it tightly, eyes locking with him.

Nines gave him a tentative smirk, and mouthed words that ended in a static: «Ki-Ki̴͎͊̑͆ṡ̵̝s̸̳͕̰̊̊͝ ̶̡̯͇̰̊̍m̷̜̮̲͂e̵̯̥̿͋».

Gently bending over him, Gavin adjusted between his legs, completely burying himself inside him and holding the android’s face between his hands, he peppered his cheeks with kisses before taking on his lips, Nines’ mouth so warm and yet desperate for him, his fingers grasping violently his neck and keeping him buried in his mouth.

He didn’t mind the pushy attitude – _ he liked it rough _ , and if that was the way he wanted to express his longing for him, he wouldn’t be the one to deny Nines the possibility to do that. He sighed happy and content as these legs closed around him, keeping him inside.

«I’d kiss you senseless every moment of my life», holding the android’s knees onto his shoulders, he slowly started to pace his thrusts inside him, slowly rocking his hips, the motion and friction on his shaft so pleasurable, so blissful, as Nines’ lubed insides squeezed around him, no wonder now wetting the mattress with all the liquids, a mess indeed as he slipped deeper, insides were now vibrating around him.

He traced the moles on the few still visible patches of his pale skin, kissing and licking the neck, now toying with the nipples and holding the waist in place as he occasionally slowed down the pace, enough to refrain himself to come.

Nines’ moans weren’t a deterrent against it, not when his breath sounded as ragged as a human’s, so desperately warm against his body, almost scorching as he leaned onto him, their skins touching, plastic against flesh, the slap and obscene noises of his thrusts against his ass now filling the room.

And no matter how hard he tried to refrain from coming, every second of their lovemaking was sending him closer to the edge.

Staring into the besotted android’s eyes, he could see himself in the full-blown pupils that shone with a tiny red light, probably recording every moment of that, the mere thought that Nines was probably saving all of that for a later purpose only more alluring than before.

As he thrust insides, he slowly realized it was becoming harder not to chase his orgasm and it didn’t help that these fingers, the sprayed white android’s palm, were now all over his body, touching, feeling, cyan hues and mechanical fingers trailing from his shoulders up to the collarbones, resting on his neck, the possibility of getting choked by him a desire got him way harder.

And Nines, his sweet  _ precious  _ soulmate, was so beautiful, so desirable as he kept his mouth agape, teeth barely showing, lips almost dry and LED so blue, as he didn’t even try to hold in pleasured moans.

«Give me your hand, sweets», Gavin took a hold of his fingers with his soul-marked hand, and gently guided them to the lips, tentatively sucking on the fingertips, fully knowing the amount of sensors on them, «‘s not about me tonight».

Shivering, Nines let his hand go slump, completely at the mercy of the brunet.

There it was again... Gavin neglecting himself just to prioritize his wishes.

When Connor told him humans couldn’t multitask, he sure never thought Gavin would be the well-known exception to the rule.

And how blissful was now the sight of his mouth roughly taking inside his fingers, as Gavin relentlessly kept on pounding him, alternating a fast pace with a slower one, cock twitching inside him, precum mixing with his sticky fluids, taking brief pauses enough to hold back on his orgasm, edging himself just for his sake, no matter how Nines clenched around him, how he ached for him to cum inside him, fill him up to the brim, feel his cock pulsating and twitching inside him, becoming one single thing.

Yet, Gavin had been clear:  _ now his priority was him _ .

And  _ by rA9 _ if the itching on his nape wasn’t becoming uncomfortable, information flooding his HUD as Gavin’s saliva dripped onto his fingers, engulfing them one at the time, digit by digit, down to the knuckles, sucking with expertise and hunger just like he did on his dick, a master of the blowjob, as he slurped on them with lewd noises, licking the palm as every pad under the finger shone in cerulean hues and lightened, pressing against the softest parts and tentatively biting them with his canines.

«Ah... Next time I want these inside of me», he simply conceded as he sucked them clean, and Nines would have genuinely objected that he could have done that even now, but Gavin was so focused on his ministrations that there was no way he was going to distract him.

He would have held onto the thought that their next time, he would have finger-fucked him senseless, just like he was putting all himself to do so with him as well.

«F-Fas̷͔͆͒ẗ̵͕́͐̏͋ȩ̶͍̅r, please», he wasn’t obliged to plead, but Gavin’s heartbeat always rose when he did, his pupils dilated in desire and his erection twitched.

It was blatant he was hitting a nerve and he had no intention of ignoring that information.

Gavin let go of his knees, and now popping off of him, he heavily breathed, wiping the pearls of sweat off his forehead, meeting the concerned look of the android.

«Are you okay Gavin? Am I...».

«Ah... Babe, you’re... amazing», he smiled back at him, moving the android’s curl off his forehead, now kissing it sweetly, «Let me just catch my breath. I don’t want to end this soon, and I’m really trying my hardest not to bust a nut».

Nines chuckled, his head tilting as he gazed at the detective’s erection, standing stiff and tilting between his legs.

«‘s in moments like this I wish I could turn it off or just delay it just like you do»

«I know that it may seem so to you, but I cannot delay my orgasm as much as I want. My body still overheats and no different from a computer update, it comes a moment when I have to let go, no matter how hard I want to hold it in».

Gavin grinned, rolling his palms over the android’s knees as he scratched his nails on them, sliding the fingers over the shins and the robust calves, just feeling every touchable portion of his body: «Heh, just like poop». At his roll of eyes,  _ a much-concerned stare _ , he just exploded in a burst of laughter, childishly pointing at the pissed-off face he got in return.

«Please, tell me you didn’t just mention feces in the middle of an intercourse session»

«Well, what? You want to object? You call love-making “ _ intercourse session _ ”! What are you, some middle-class woman from the Victorian age?», he teased in response, waving his hands flamboyantly, «“ _ Golly gee, I’m arriving, innit _ !  _ I’m about to cheese me pants _ !”».

Nines curled his nose, but he was visibly holding back a smirk at the brunet’s British impression.

«I–», visibly blushing, he dropped the attitude for the sake of the argumentation, «Okay, point taken. I’ll comply».

«You comply?», Gavin chuckled, nudging his nose against the android’s cheek, affectionately brushing it, his stubble now grazing and tickling the skin, «Well, I should write this down on the calendar. The day I got ya, the most advanced android on the face of Earth, to admit you were wrong».

«But, I also have one point to prove to you,  _ detective _ ».

Gavin tilted his head, intriguingly waiting for the android to expose his point, grinning at the sudden use of his title: «Oh yeah? And that would be?».

What he wasn’t expecting, was for Nines to grab his shoulder and roll him over on the mattress, reversing their positions, as he proudly sat on his lap, all his two-hundred pounds now straddling his hips, wet and sticky ass brushing his erection and now teasing it.

There was something primal in the way the RK900 was now looking at him, forcing him against the bed with all his weight despite only having one arm, a red light shining in his pupils that made him question when did he fell so deeply in love with him to not be intimidated by his Terminator stare.

Licking his lips, he barely made the words out of his mind, way too focused on that raw demonstration of power, something that very often made him forget that Nines was still an android.

As if the exposed chassis, the mechanic joints and seams, the lights coming from his body as if he was a fucking walking Christmas ornament, and the missing arm with wired in attachments weren’t enough to tell.

«I remember very clearly you telling me, upon our first meeting, that you’re a power-bottom», Nines was wearing a calculating stare as he ground on his cock, the sticky release from his gaping hole alluring and very much inviting for his demanding and painful erection, «I believe though, that you never once questioned how that would play out with me in control».

«What, you’re gonna pull an Uno Reverse Card on me? If you go power-bottom on me now, there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to hold back»

«You will»

Gavin raised a brow, chuckling as he gave the android’s erection a pump, jerking it slowly and nice, as sticky beads now dropped onto his stomach.

«Mmm, I know that you’re scanning the shit out of me, sweets. You have that focused look whenever you’re running your statistics», Gavin held back a moan as the android rubbed his ass on him once again, his spread hand now checking his pulse as the LED flickered yellow for a second before returning blue.

«I ran the preconstructions and calculated the best way to allow you some cool-down», he tilted his head, blush spreading on his cheeks, «We... can enjoy approximately fifteen more minutes of intimacy, if we follow this strategy».

«Jesus. I can’t believe you really ran a preconstruction for it like phckin’ Google Maps recalculates the route»

«You love this oversized Android».

Gavin scuffed in a heartfelt laugh, but the hesitant stare of the android implicitly told him this was no time for holding up onto his feelings. Propping himself up on his elbows, he leaned in to meet his lips, capturing them into a brief kiss.

«Yes, I do».

After all, he couldn’t deny him that happiness, not as he saw him bask in the bliss of their shared love.

Nines’ eyes were lighting up in happiness as he basked in the love and affection he was showered with, every confession of love, making his thirium pump skip a beat in pure ecstasy. And how gentle these palms were as they traced circular motions on his thighs, smooth plastic being caressed by the human’s fingertips.

«Babe...? Not that I don’t like when you crush me under your weight... seriously, that’s hot as phck, but you’re kinda cutting off the circulation on my weiner here».

Huffing, Gavin held back a sigh as he saw him ground regardless on him, Nines’ balls now heavily rubbing on his erection, sending him straightly to heaven, the pressure on his dick choking his breath off but at the same time so blissfully exquisite as he shamefully moaned.

Stretching his arms, he let his open palms run from the android’s hips, dusted with moles and freckles that constantly glitched-out, up to his torso, index and thumb now circling the glowing rim of the thirium pump regulator, showing the white circle and the triangle engraved on it, no wonder making the android tilt and whine in pleasure.

«Feels good?», he asked for confirmation, letting his nails gently scratch the surface, «Are you sure you don’t want me to touch your wires?»

Curling his lips in an attempt of a smile, he covered the detective’s hand with his, moving it to his heart, just to let him feel his racing heartbeat, blue blood now rushing to his cheeks, turning them cerulean: «No. I’ll tell you when».

«You wanna synch our orgasms or what?»

«Perhaps», winking, Nines now let one finger rest on the leaking tip of his erection, rubbing the hole as dense synthetic precum came out of it, and got an eyeful of the dazed glare the brunet was gifting him, looking at that cock as if he didn’t just eat it entirely ten minutes before.

Spreading his cheeks, he gently and so slowly lowered on the hardened shaft, teasing his ass with the crimson and leaking tip, much to Gavin’s lustful gaze.

«Did I ever tell you I love seeing you flustered,  _ detective _ ?».

«You’re so phckin’ sly. Using my title here,  _ nggh _ –», holding back a curse, he barely tried not to jolt, «W-When I’m not even wearing my uniform».

«Ah.. Y̴̜o̵̧̓u̵͎̅’̴̫̀r̶̹͑è̵̝– You’re never wearing your uniform, Gavin».

Nines slowly sank on him, embracing his girth, sighing in lust-filled whines as he felt himself stretch around his erection, the detective’s waist tilting but restrained from moving too much as he was forced to leave entirely in control the android, knees rising as the RK900 straddled his hips, mildly swinging his waist back and forth, enough to give him a taste of his slower pace.

«Although I... a̶̢͠h̵̙͠... I wouldn’t mind seeing you wearing one. I’m sure you would look s̶̤t̵̙̓ű̷̦ñ̵̼ṇ̶͝ȋ̷ͅn̷̪̽g̴̦̉».

«Mmm, should I take out my shackles too for the next occasion?», feeling the grip on him ease, Gavin let his thighs meet Nines’ cheeks with a slap, not expecting the android to press his hand against them, fiercely holding him against the mattress with renewed force.

«And what t̴̪̎h̵̻̀e̷͍̽n̵̻̍? Punish me for being bad? My conduct is impeccable. You, on the contrary, still need to pay your fines from April,  _ detective Reed _ ».

Gavin smirked, panting as he felt Nines sink into his erection once again, fast and in one go, slippery and wet, painfully sliding up and down on him, his balls hitting with precision his pubes, slamming on the curly hairs: «‘m not paying them any sooner,  _ partner _ ».

Grinning, Nines popped off his dick, enough to give him a false illusion of relief before dropping on him once again, internal sensors buzzing with pleased inputs as he dictated the pace, increasing with every passing second, waddling his hips back and forth, monitoring with every accurate and calculated motion how aroused and closer to the edge the detective was, feeling drips of denser and thicker precum leaking inside him.

«You’re such a c̶r̷i̷m̷i̴n̶a̵l̵», Nines slammed on him with more strength, snatching a whimper out of the detective, «Should I offer you a treat if you pay them off? If you act like a g̸o̵o̶d̴ ̵b̶o̶y̸ ̴for once?».

Gavin bit his lip, no wonder hardening at the pet name, teasing the android’s nipples and scrolling his hands down his torso as he gave him a besotted look, awfully submissive as he realized he could have cum in two seconds flat if Nines called him  _ that  _ one more time.

«I don’t need treats. I already have everything I want here with me».

Getting comfortable with confessing his feelings was still difficult, but it was a start, despite he always felt overwhelmed by them, no doubt now flushing red to the tip of his ears.

Nines was riding him blissfully, and as his hand palmed his erection, he sported an expression of pure bliss and arousal, smirking and jolting in his closed fist, leaking profusely on his stomach, staining and marking it with scent of strawberry.

And he couldn’t deny that the android was the sole center of his attention, the star around the which he gravitated all the time. As he collected the sticky flavored release on his body, he teasingly brought it to his lips, making a show of blowing his hands, closing the mouth around the viscous digits, so delicious and sweet, savory and a poor substitute of that cock constantly bouncing under his sight, something he very much would have preferred in place of the fingers.

Nines’ moans were exquisite as he imposed the pace, slowly fucking and impaling himself onto his dick as Gavin scratched his hips and thighs, the android now chasing the friction on the brunet’s stomach, shivering as strong and hairy forearms held him, embracing his torso.

Leaning to kiss his nipples and suck on them, no doubt snatching loud glitched moans out of the android, Gavin let his hands now intertwine behind his back, exhaling loud whimpers and breaths that no doubt made him squirm around his cock with every slap of his balls against the dripping hole.

«Ah... f̴u̷c̴k̸... So g̸o̶o̴d̴,̷ ̵G̷a̵v̶i̵n̸».

Chuckling, Gavin opened his mouth for the android to avidly and sloppily kiss him, as he waddled and straddled him, cursing like he rarely heard him and choking his moans in the kiss, sliding down to let the detective’s arm completely hold him, stretching him open and increasing the pace, wanting for more and grasping for relief.

«G̸a̶v̴i̷n̷», he mumbled straddling his hips, the detective’s cock hitting all the right spots, his sensors haywire with it, wires aching for a touch as the detective’s fingers just started scratching over his chassis, «Gavin, I m̷a̵y̴...».

Gavin huffed, grasping for a breath, a happy smile lighting up his face as Nines leaned on him to lick wet sweat off his forehead, not even trying to hide the fact that he was blatantly analyzing him, LED now spinning yellow.

«Hmm.... Need my fingers, sweets?».

Nines silently nodded, savoring the sweat on his tongue, pregnant with hormones and minerals, saline aftertaste, endorphins and oxytocin mixing in the few drops he collected. Gently and playfully biting the detective’s scruffy stubble, hairs tickling his sensors, he let the skin on his nape retract for him.

He wasn’t certainly expecting Gavin to grab his ass and prompt him to get up.

There was no way he was going to stop now that Nines begged him to get over with it.

«Get on your fours, sweets, and buckle up».

Nines eagerly arched his back, propping his ass up as he pleasingly hummed, the detective now grinding the leaking tip of his cock between the squeezed cheeks, rocking his hips back and forth as his thumb pressed the glans against the hole, slowly prodding it: «God, look at all these moles and freckles. What a sight. What did I do to deserve such a pretty soulmate? Makes me wanna kiss them all, one by one».

Waving his hips expectantly, Nines stood on his elbow, barely keeping his equilibrium, hole twitching in anticipation as he felt a trail of wet lube sliding in the inter of his thigh. He wasn’t certainly expecting for the detective to spread the cheeks and lick it off, now swiping his tongue inside his ass again, kissing and sucking it properly.

«’m going in, sweets», he sighed now hitting his hardened shaft against the rim, chuckling as the android gave him an expectant glare, gray eyes lightening up with desire as he slid inside him, stretching him open once again, as wet and warm insides pulsated and vibrated around him.

«Ah... God, Nines... That’s it, squeeze me good. You’re so good», holding his hips steady, he started quickening his pace, thrusts faster as he rocked his erection outside and inside him, hitting frantically every sweet spot, resuming the pace. But no matter how hard he slammed and hammered inside him, that alone wouldn’t have been enough to send him over the edge.

He had to do more, and like  _ hell _ he was going to finish before Nines.

«S̵h̸i̵t̸!̶ ̶.̶.̴.̶G̸a̴v̶i̶n̶–̸!»

«That’s it, good boy», Gavin leaned on in, chuckling as beads of sweat ground off his forehead, biting his lower lip and chasing his ecstatic arousal as he saw Nines bend over on the mattress, his ass so propped up just for him to pound it harder, the android’s head now completely resting on the pillow, LED hidden, hair disheveled and his face kissed by the soft amber light of the bed lamp.

Nines’ hole was clenching around him, leaking  _ oh _ so moist and slippery, and the obscene noises of his balls slapping against his thighs were awfully turning him on.

He was  _ so _ close, it was now or never.

«H-H̶a̶r̴d̷e̴r̶, Gavin!».

Smirking, he could clearly see a pool of dense liquid oozing from the pink tip of the android’s long cock and if the statics permeating his  _ oh  _ so erotically bossy words were anything to go by, he was getting awfully close.

Time to take matters into hands.

«Ass up», he grunted, draping one arm around the android’s torso, Nines now meeting his hard thrusts, every slap almost painful on his thighs considering the energy he was putting in fucking himself onto his cock, making sure all his inches could fit inside that tightening hole, no matter how long they’ve been going, still hardly stretching, «That’s right, like this. Ah... you’re so good for me».

His praises were getting Nines going, snatching mewls of pleasure that ended in statics, but that wasn’t what he was aiming for.

Holding his heated back close to his stomach, the noise of the whirring fans now almost audible, he propped him up on his knees, one trembling hand now reaching for the neck port, the reaction immediate as his insides contorted and squirmed, painfully vibrating around his cock.

«C-Come on– ah! H-Hold your horses babe and open up. We’re doing it together, gonna make you feel really good».

«Y-̴Y̸e̷s̴!», Nines almost squealed, his enthusiasm so genuine, trembling and shaking as his skin completely retracted from the neck, the wires now exposed and a warmth coming from his insides, «Be careful, I’m– ah! I’m o̵v̷e̵r̴–», he gaped, taking an unnecessary breath as Gavin slammed harder inside him, «I’m overheating, n̴n̷g̸h̴!».

«‘s not gonna make a difference for me», Gavin kissed his neck, draping his tongue over the smooth chassis, basking in the loud moans coming from the android, thrusting and slamming rougher and deeper with each pound, and smiled as the port finally opened for him, «I’m going to make you cum real good, sweets».

Nines shivered, feeling the detective’s fingers dancing around his port, the medium slipping inside without any warning, now teasing one wire, snatching a broken whimper out of his mouth, hips tilting against his erection, buried now balls deep inside him.

«G̵a̸–! Gavin–»

«I’ve got you, Nines», slowing the rhythm, Gavin slipped another finger inside him, now playing the wires like chords of a harp, pressing them no different from keys of a piano, sending the android’s systems haywire, HUD crashing with red messages of intrusion, registering the fingerprints and the pressure coming from the digits fingering him, LED flickering yellow and red as his mewling and horny moans chocked in his throat, his cock stiff as it twitched with every slap of the detective’s firm legs against his white cheeks, ass barely bouncing with every assessed hit, now frantic and so slippery, squishy noises with every grunt Gavin let go as he buried himself deep into his hole.

«Add o̴n̷e̷ ̷m̵o̸r̵e̶!», Nines was pleading him, his waist meeting the detective’s harsh thrusts as his blush reached the tip of his ears, impaling himself on his erection, whining, letting his neck back enough to bury himself on the rough digits now twisting inside him, «Ah! Gavin... a-a̶n̶o̸t̸h̶e̴r̷–!».

Gavin chuckled and didn’t object as he slid his ring finger and the index inside, roughly finger-fucking his port, moving the thick wires and going as deep as he could, hitting God only knew what,  _ his spine?, his vertebrae?, God he didn’t want to know _ , as he could no more make out the frantic words coming from the android, nor his broken moans, screaming as he dived his fingers deeper, each scissoring making Nines squirm until all the skin was gone, glitched out for seconds, from the neck down to the legs, patches of human complexion mixing with plastic and smooth chassis.

Slamming harder against the pristine ass, he tugged one wire around his medium, hooking it around the digit and twitching it as Nines fidgetted under him, in a litany of curses he would have never expected from the android, always so stiff and in order.

«Oh, fuck, f̵u̷c̵k̴, f̶̤̙͘u̷͈͈͗͆c̸͚̅͐̎͆k̴̟͔̈̌̎!», and Nines was so beautifully noisy and loud as he met his slaps, as he threw his neck back to let him sink deeper inside his neck, as he held the bedsheets in his hand and pulled them until he could clearly hear the ripping noise of the fabric, «Pu-P̴u̸l̸l̴ ̸i̴t̷, Gavin!!».

Leaning to kiss his collarbone, he eagerly obeyed.

«Ngh… Goddamnit... I love it when you’re bossy», he whispered into his ear, now gripping one thick wire and roughly pulling it, «You’re getting so tight around me. I can’t hold it in too much longer, Nines».

Rotating his soul-marked wrist, he tried to gain better access as he slowed his pushes.

«Do you want me to cum inside you, Nines?».

Nines whined in static, barely uttering a whisper.

“Y-y̸̟̼̹̓̂͌͠e̶̺̤̓s..”.

«Can’t hear you», he pushed his fingers deeper, now twisting another wire, scissoring the already heated insides, «Want me to give you a nice and deep creampie?».

Nines’ hips twitched, LED shining yellow as a pool of dense liquid oozed from his cock.

He was desperate,  _ oh _ so hungry and desperate for it that Gavin he would have loved to have a picture of him and frame it, and all he was expecting but the way the android tilted and met his pounding: «Yes. Yes, please. A̶l̷l̵ ̵i̸n̵s̶i̵d̷e̸».

Gavin sharply inhaled, and with one hand now holding the android’s waist in place, he slammed harder against him, feeling Nines’ palm holding onto his neck for his dear life, as his fingers worked magic inside of him, snatching a litany of moans out of white lips, hair and skin constantly glitching as he fucked his port to the point of feeling his pain from the carpal tunnel returning after ages, digits thrusting with the same energy of his cock slapping against that tight ass, hole clenching in a grasping vice, as if Nines wanted to hold him inside at all costs, fingers twisting the wires, pulling them, index and medium now scissoring them.

«Ḡ̵̝̬a̴̫̋v̷̮̪̺̪̇͊̽̚–!!»

Nines was so close he could actually feel it.

Letting go of his waist, he draped an elbow around his neck, now almost choking him as he relentlessly fingered his port, the free hand now circling around his thirium pump, draping kisses all over his jaw and neck.

«Nines– ah..», he was there, he was almost there, but he didn’t want to let go before him, «Nines,  _ my sweet Nines _ , I love you, I love you so much».

Nines bit his lips, LED shining an intense blue, frantically moaning.

«I l-lo̴͈͑͂͋͝v̴͙̭͔̟e̶̱͈̋ ̵̢̞̼̫̂͊y̴̩̮̜͊͝ö̴̲͚̭ͅu̴̥͝ ̸̧͈̜̈́͋̑̾t̶͕̟̫̺̽̒o̵͇͔̺̓̎o̵̤͇͌̌̈́–».

Sliding a third finger inside, he finally increased the pace, God only knew how did he manage to fit his pinky inside his small port.

«T-Th̵̛̗̭̖͈̓ě̵̬̚͜͜r̷̗̥͖͊e̴͉̮̭͘ͅ!»

_ And that was it _ , that was what finally sent the android over the edge, crying in an acute and barely human noise before slumping on him, contorting and spasming, whining and trembling from head to toes.

And honest to God, seeing Nines cumming was a goddamn hot spectacle, head tilting backward, screaming so high pitched as his ass was a mess of slippery and wet fluids. Closing his eyes, Gavin relentlessly fingered his port, helping him ride his orgasm as he gave a few erratic thrusts before finally letting go himself, choking a hoarse grunt.

«C-Cumin’–!»

Groaning, Nines could finally feel his sensors buzzing in ecstasy, drowning in pleasure as Gavin unwound inside him, slamming and pounding his insides so fiercely, lube pooling on the mattress as all he could do was moan in bliss, spasm around his fat cock as it twitched inside him, spurting dense cum, hitting all his sensors and filling him up to the brim, one last thrust that stuffed him good, drilling inside his stretching hole.

Gavin was coming profusely, all his excitement and built-up arousal now letting go, and his hold on his neck was choking him so tight that he wondered why,  _ of all things _ , this was  _ also  _ getting him going.

But no matter how blissful that moment was, and how hot and warm his seed now filled his hole; all that heating still hit him and sent him offline for a few seconds, and when he came off his high, fastly rebooting and heavily panting and huffing, he realized Gavin slumped on him, and they were lying on the mattress  _ right on top  _ of the pool of his liquids, now mixing with the detective’s sweat.

He was still assessing his systems when he realized that not only the detective rolled over and was now spooning him, but was still trying to remain inside him, his fingers draping around the closed port on the nape as the other hand milked his still erect cock, digits dense and stick with his release.

Gavin was still rutting inside him, but his moans were less hot and more relaxed, his cock pushing inside the sticky hole as Nines draped his leg around his thigh, giving him better access.

«You okay, sweetheart?», there was a hint of preoccupation in his voice as he gently rocked his hips, now peppering with kisses the freckles and moles on the right shoulder, «Did I overdo it? You went out for a few seconds. Had me worried for a sec».

Nines hummed, his systems completely online, and squeezed his hole around Gavin, snatching a deep and raspy moan out of him.

«I’m… perfectly fine. Never felt better. I’d love to have you inside me all night though if it was possible».

Gavin caressed all his torso, kissing his shoulder blades and completely spooning him as he popped out of him, a trail of cum slowly staining the blankets: «‘m sorry sweets, but that’s not how human biology works. Unless you have Priapism».

«Mmmh, is not a problem. I’m happy even with feeling my comfort human next to me»

«Sappy baby», Gavin kissed his nape, and fetching the blanket from the bed’s footboard, he covered themselves, now snuggling closer to the android and holding him against his sweated body, «You wore me out, sweets. After tonight, I should be allowed to skip a whole week worth of leg day. And have donuts and coffee with whole milk for a month».

Resting his hand over the one on his regulator, Nines playfully sighed: «I’ll make sure you’ll get your right amount of exercise in the upcoming days, should you hazard that diet».

Gavin hummed in his shoulder blades, and getting comfortable, he rested his chin on the android’s collarbone: «What?, you’ve been missing my pretty ass? If you take initiative, I’m all yours.  _ Mi culo es su culo,  _ as they say in Spain».

Rolling his eyes, the android shook his head, huffing in a dry laugh.

«They don’t say that, Gavin», as he sniffed his scent off his soul-marked hand, licking and pampering it with tender kisses, he could literally smell the endorphins perspiring from his sweat, olive complexion now shining with traces of his wet kisses, «Also, we kind of dirtied the bed».

«No shit, Sherlock», chuckling, the detective snuggled his nose on his back, burying it in his shoulder blades, «C’mon, don’t be anal about it and leave it for tomorrow. You aren’t seriously expecting me to leave this heavenly haven and take another shower. It’s just strawberry flavored lube and android cummies. It can’t be that bad».

«Android cummies», Nines remarked, incredulous.

«‘s what it is: a problem for tomorrow».

Of course, he could expect that from the detective.

It was Gavin he was talking about.

Holding onto his hand, he focused on the white noises coming from the outside, the rain hitting the windows, and the wind moving the branches. Silence stretched among them as he could feel the human’s warm breath on his neck getting slower and deeper with every passing second.

“...Gavin?”, his tone was feeble as he heard a groaned nod coming from his back, a relaxed and tired hum.

«...what is it?».

Biting his lips, Nines intertwined his hand with the detective’s, his head now sinking into the pillow and blissfully enjoying the closeness.

«I... think I missed to thank you. I love you too. I was so wrapped in my pleasure that I forgot to tell you so. But I love you so much I wish there was a way to calculate it».

«Hmm... that’s flattering...», peppering with kisses his neck, he let his free arm, the soul-marked one, now hold and push the android even closer to his body, clinging with his legs to him no different from an octopus, «Luv you. You’re so warm».

«I told you I’d overheat»

«Mmmh, you did. But I wouldn’t prefer any other way. It’s always a good sign, when you’re warm around me, sweets».

Nines blushed, no wonder whining as he could feel a trail of dense cum dripping out his hole. The temptation to taste himself was there, but the hand holding his was so tight in the hold that there was no way he was going to let go of it. And he wasn’t completely sure he wanted to be reprimanded because of it when the human was about to fall asleep.

«Can I ask you something, Gavin?», he wetted his lips, tracing circles around the detective’s rough knuckles, keeping his skin retracted and emanating cyan hues, «Why do you keep calling me ‘ _ sweets _ ’?».

«You don’t like it?», there was an edge of worry and self-consciousness on Gavin’s words, but Nines fastly corrected him: «N-No, I love it, I find it really endearing. But you’ve always called me Nines, and you know better than me that no one ever used any other name for me. I’m just... curious».

Gavin’s voice raised, and now it was his turn to be flustered: «Uhh, ‘s nothing. It’s just that you have a sweet tooth. So...  _ sweets _ maybe isn’t that off the mark».

«Oh».

«Yeah...», Gavin bit the soft tip of his ear, bashfully smiling as it turned bluish with blush, «You’re adorable».

«You certainly know your way to my heart»

«Goes both ways. Guess we wouldn’t be soulmates if it wasn’t like that», chuckling, he leaned his forehead against the android’s hair, inspiring the pleasant and dulcet scent of the argan shampoo, his eyes slowly heavier as he let himself be comforted by the noise of the android’s loud sighs, probably attempting to regulate his own temperature, letting himself be lulled by that comforting noise.

There was a long moment of silence after Nines clicked the bed lamp off, and the room filled with their sighs, Gavin’s deeper breath now almost becoming a snore as he never once let go of his hand.

Nines wasn’t expecting Gavin to cling to him even more, legs intertwining with his, yet here he was, a military-grade android, worth millions of dollars and weighting more than 200-pounds, being cuddled and comforted by a human.

«G’d night, Nines. Have sweet dreams».

Yes. That was indeed what he signed up for.

«Good night, Gavin. Sleep well».

Holding onto his soul-marked right hand, he smirked, slowly closing his eyes.

Well.

If that was going to be his life from now on, he wouldn’t have exchanged it for anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was it! Stay tuned for last update next week (either on Monday or Tuesday)!  
> Thank you all for tagging along for this ride!!! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡💖💖💖💖💖💖🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓


	12. // PARTITION 12 // – Fate is never wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the very late update! I really wanted to finish this earlier but my new semester started this week and Sanremo2021 got in the way 👉👈  
> I barely had any time to write unfortunately and I didn't want to rush this chapter only because it was the last one. I was really debated on which scenes to include and how to deliver all of them. I hope you're going to like it and enjoy it 💖💖💖💖  
> Don't forget to read the end notes!

# Accident

#### \\\ EPILOGUE \\\

It had been such a long time since he last had a decent amount of sleep or that he actually ever woke up to the sound of his loud snoring.

Yet, here he was, groaning loudly as soon as he heard the alarm going off, a trail of dry saliva dripping on his stubble, his noisy snoring jolting him awake, and for some reason, his two hundred pounds lover now peacefully sleeping on the top of his hairy chest, and God only knew how did their positions revert as they slept.

He was sure as hell he was spooning him when they fell asleep, holding onto his chest with his nose buried on the android’s shoulder blades, but that wasn’t clearly the case now, cause Nines, his sweet, _heavy_ , and so perfect lover, was now crashing onto him, LED flickering blue, going on and off at intervals of seconds, no sign of breathing routine coming from him.

Well, that was indeed a peaceful sight, and the dim morning light coming from the blinders, gray from the clouds still pestering the cinder sky, was still a good look on his worn-out expression, deep into stasis.

In all the times he stumbled on him resting on the couch, in a sitting position, he could swear he had never seen him half as relaxed and unwound, his ear glued to his torso – _no doubt monitoring his heartbeat_ , the arm draped around his neck, the grasp soft as it held onto the curls of re-growing hair on his nape.

Well, if he focused on these sensations, maybe he could manage to ignore the fact that he could clearly feel all the stickiness from the previous night now dried on him, mixed with the mild stomach ache he was experiencing, gastric reflux burning his throat and esophagus at the realization that maybe slurping on more than a pint of lube wasn’t the smartest choice he ever took in the last two weeks.

And maybe it was his stomach hurting, or maybe just the fact that he barely had any energy left to set off the alarm, but he really felt old at the realization for once he wasn’t sporting a morning wood.

Nines really drained all his energies the night before. _Maybe it was for the best_.

He never heard of dicks fallin’ off, but he didn’t want to test his luck too much.

Carefully stretching his arms, he sighed as he felt Princess’ head and whiskers butt against his face, snuggling her furry muzzle against his stubble, loudly purring and despotically demanding pets.

“Mmmh, you spoiled girl”, chuckling, he delivered the pets, resting one hand on the android’s head, curling his hair between his fingers and affectionately scratching the scalp, index and medium finger now toying with the curl always sticking out of place from the forehead, “Come on, can’t you see dad’s havin’ a moment? I’ll feed you later. You won’t starve to death if you wait one more hour”.

There was a grunted meow coming in answer, but as he purposely kept on ignoring her, it was obvious there was nothing Princess could do if not surrender and cuddle at the footboard, turning herself into a soft ball of fur next to Arsehole, who was now stretching on his back, with his red tabby stomach exposed, paws purring and kneading in midair.

He loved his cats, but he wouldn’t have given up the peaceful sight of Nines resting on his chest for nothing in the world.

Gently bopping the tip of his nose, he chuckled to himself, now brushing with feather-touches his fingertips over his forehead, fondly smiling as the skin unconsciously retracted wherever he trailed, be it between his brows, on the small moles of his cheeks, or over the always clean shaved jaw, now threading his hand slowly and lightly between the strands of disheveled chocolate hair.

He curled his mouth corners into a smile as soon as the LED changed into a stable blue hue, a glowing warm light, shining as the android’s lips furrowed, no wonder as he emerged from his stasis, systems slowly returning online, as Gavin lulled and pampered him with soft caresses, accompanying his wake-up.

«Good morning, Sleeping Beauty», he huffed with hoarse voice, as soon as Nines’ droopy eyes gradually opened, disoriented for a moment, red pupils still scanning him and assessing the situation before turning black as berries.

«Here, here. It’s me, you’re safe», stroking his cheek, he caressed his LED with his thumb, smirking as the android just melted into the affection, sighing in relief, but still laconic, «Do you need more rest? I don’t mind spending the day cuddling in bed».

Nines tried to raise his head, but decided against it, leaving it resting on his chest once more, snuggling on the hairs as he lazily and coarsely moved his hand to the detective’s face, splashing his palm entirely on his nose.

«Th...Thirium...», he mumbled in a heavy sigh.

«Well, good morning to you too, I guess. Never thought I’d see the day you’d prioritize breakfast over a good old smooch, but ‘m not complaining», he bent enough to kiss his forehead, but as he tried to move his hand from his face, he startled at how hard the joints were, clogs clicking in his mind, «H-Huh, now that’s interesting. Uhm, babe is your hand supposed to be like this?».

Nines was now too tired to even hide his blush and merely kept on burying his face deep into his chest, vainly avoiding his emerald gaze: «Apparently, my eagerness last night made me almost drain my entire lubrication reserve, and now I’m... dry. I wasn’t expecting to lose up to one liter of lube. But apparently, even Cyberlife’s finest can commit miscalculations when it comes to deviancy».

«Oh Jesus phckin’ Christ on a bicycle. How the hell are you still alive», now jolting awake, he tried to get into a sitting position, «God, should I bring you to Cyberlife? Should I call your brothers or Kamski, or just–».

«It’s not necessary», resting like a dead fish on the mattress, Nines sighed in annoyance, enjoying the strokes on his head, ignoring the fact that of all times he had to be dysfunctional, this was literally the worst, «It’s okay. I just need something to drink real quick. I’m not in danger, it’s just... annoying. Once I’ll introduce the substance, my body will synthesize lubrication straight away».

Gavin curled his nose, a light of concern still lingering on his face, and stumbled off his bed, barely finding his slippers as he dragged them to the kitchen, much oblivious to the fact that the android now tilted his head enough to take a good shot of his ass.

Well, his preconstruction software surely didn’t account for that.

And that was quite the inconvenience, considering a part of him wanted to surprise Gavin that same morning by preparing him breakfast and serving it at bed, or just snuggling under the blankets and giving him head before he could actually wake up.

And instead, he was stuck there, on the dirtied bed, naked, with his butt exposed and his nose buried in the pillow, Arsehole now making his curved back his home and snuggling with the tail wrapped around.

If Sixty had seen him now, he wouldn’t have heard the end of it.

“You’ve got fucked dry, brother!”.

Or something along these lines.

He jolted as soon as he heard a snapping noise coming from the door, trying to roll over to no avail. But before he could say anything, his HUD lit up with a notification, now showing a picture coming from Gavin’s phone of himself currently laying flat on the mattress and dry sticky bedsheets, his back full of moles he didn’t even know were there, ass propped up, and Arsehole now curled on the curved hollow space of his spine.

Crawling on the bed, Gavin scratched the cat’s head, and now lifting him, he moved the red tabby to the footboard, giving a playful grope to the RK900’s ass.

«Honk, honk!», letting his fingers sink and squeeze the soft butt, he boasted into a fat laugh at Nines’ dry chuckle, muffled into the pillow, «Hey sweets, need help rolling over?».

Nines hummed, but he was clearly grinning when Gavin huffed moving him.

«You know, if it was someone else, they would have freaked out seeing you with your face dead buried in the pillow. They would have genuinely thought you died of asphyxiation».

«Lucky for me, you’re not someone else», Nines chuckled, but wasn’t expecting Gavin to prop him up against the mountain of pillows, forcing him sitten before uncapping the bottle of thirium, «I would have told you I don’t have a gag reflex so there’s no way I’d choke drinking it as I’m laying down, but it’s endearing seeing you care for me».

«Yeah, yeah, I love nursing you. Sue me»

«I don’t think I could ever sue the man who is currently pampering me with...», analyzing the content of the bottle, his lips gently curved at the realization that Gavin brought him another treat, «Chocolate flavored thirium».

«I have a bunch of these things. You deserve to be spoiled».

«I would have spoiled you as well if I didn’t have this... inconvenience», slowly gulping down the liquid, he hummed as he felt the aftertaste of chocolate making his mouth buzz, sensors capturing all the sweet molecules of flavoring, registering the warming sensation of cocoa. Feeling his joints returning efficient and lubed was sure a relief, and emptying the bottle in one go, he started wiggling his fingers, arm, and legs to test them, only now realizing how flustered that made Gavin.

«Sweets, don’t get the wrong idea. I love your dedication, but– uhm...», he scratched his nose, fidgeting with his scar as his cheeks turned rosy, «Maybe we should have a shower first. I need some food and something for my stomach».

«Your stomach?»

«Your idiot boyfriend ate too much lube yesterday».

Nines blushed, awkwardly making eye contact as he gave him a lopsided grin: «We... are boyfriends?».

«I, huh, I mean–», Gavin’s words stumbled as he barely managed to make them out of his mouth, grunting and fumbling, hands heavily gesticulating now, body expressive and speaking for him whenever he felt nervous and self-aware, «I-I mean, duh? I mean, we... we’re together and we- we are soulmates», his gesturing only worsened as he could feel the android’s intense stare digging into his eyes, heartbeat hastily rising and beating like crazy, lips now trembling, «Y-You, I... we’re lovers, yup. Or boyfriends. Whatever suits you».

Frowning, Nines leaned in to kiss him, brushing their lips briefly before letting their noses touch, his words a whisper: “I see you’re less talkative by day, Gavin”.

«Shut up! I’m–», gulping, the detective now bit his lip, refraining himself from saying too much, «Listen, ‘s all new to me. I’m allowed to be flustered».

«Of course you are», gently holding his neck, Nines dragged the detective against him, kissing him once again, this time with renewed enthusiasm, «If you go feed the cats, I promise I’ll prepare some good breakfast for you».

«Huh, I should have mentioned you earlier that we’re out of food for that», at the curious stare of the android, now already on his way to the door, he scratched his nape embarrassed, «Yeah, see, while you were at Cyberlife, Tina and Connor took turns to bring me food. So, huh, I rarely cooked anything. There are probably some expired eggs in the fridge and acid milk. But it barely counts as edible. I mean, I could eat the cat’s croquettes but–».

Nines heavily sighed, and his LED went yellow as he checked for the nearby coffee shops now open and openly android-friendly.

«Okay, scratch that. I will make sure to order some groceries later. Whilst I trust Officer Chen’s and Connor’s judgment, I don’t want you to return to unhealthy eating patterns. And croquettes– why would you even resort to eating them?!».

Walking up to him, the brunet gave him a challenging stare.

«You gotta keep an open mind, _tin can_ ».

«Your open mind is a roulette wheel, Gavin»

Gavin got on his tiptoes, draping his arms around the android’s neck as he kissed him tenderly, and now purposely stepping on his toes, he chuckled as Nines effortlessly lifted his foot, making the detective cling to his neck and barely keeping his balance.

«Don’t get too cocky showing off your strength. I may pop a chub, but I still need fuel if you want me to go again»

«Duly noted. I’ll make sure you’re stuffed, before resuming our activities».

Scoffing, the detective leaned on him, enjoying the warmth irradiating from his body, and as the android set him down, he gave him a parting kiss: «I’ll be grabbing a shower real quick. Join me?».

«The cats still need to be fed», Nines’ eyes trailed to Princess’ fluffy tail curling around his calf, her head butting and marking the skin with her scent as she now threw herself on the back, showing off her tummy and stretching her paws, «And the sheets need to be changed. You can’t see that, but my scanners are detecting an insane amount of mixed fluids. I’m afraid the mattress will require some extra-cleaning as well».

«Cucked with a bed. Never would I ever imagined».

Chuckling, the android walked to the chair in the corner, picking up the shirts they threw there the night before, bending over and letting his ass make a good show for the detective to see.

«So dramatic»

Now patiently folding them, he rested the clothes onto the drawer and opened it up, buzzing with happiness as he noticed the pristine black and white jacket with his model number was carefully folded, clean and ironed, ready for use.

Gavin was lazy and almost never took care of his clothes, but his jacket was still in an immaculate state.

It was... e̴̛̼n̴͎̉d̷̝̏͛e̸̡̬̔a̶̖̮̍̿r̸͇͠i̵͉͉̒n̸̰͒ģ̸͒.

Little details that constantly reminded him how much he mattered to the human.

Too bad he couldn’t tell him anything, as Gavin already disappeared inside the bathroom, nowhere to be seen.

Walking up to the door, he activated his scanners and caught the heat signature of the detective now standing in front of the mirror, checking his face out for wrinkles before letting his fingers cup and tease his chub, stroking it in a sigh of relief.

«Keep your hands off yourself detective», he teased from the other side of the door, and for once he very much enjoyed the screech he heard in response, a squeal so high pitched that he could see the heat rising immediately, Gavin’s head now popping out of the door while he was already in the kitchen, kneeling to feed the cats: «Y-You son of a motherboard! You almost gave me a heart attack!».

«Your heart is completely fine, _detective_ ».

He could distinctly hear him mutter a “ _Prick_ ” as Gavin stepped into the shower, but it was undeniably something that made him grin.

He missed their banter.

Taking care of the bed wasn’t time-consuming, and as soon as he opened the windows to change the air, removed the dirty bed sheets, loaded them into the washer and set the program, there was little he had left to do if not cleaning the mattress with some sanitizing foam and then surprise the detective with joining him under the shower, enjoying the steaming warmth and drinking his happy moans as he let his hands slide down his body to do some proper cleaning.

«You’re such a tease, Nines», Gavin’s voice had an edge of want, raspy as he felt the android scoop up behind him, the water now drenching them, as his mechanical and smooth plastic fingers slowly stroke his half-hard erection, working it back and forth, shower filling with the detective’s grunts, Nines now kissing his neck and sliding lower, to the shoulder: «I’m just being considerate and trying to wash you properly. After all, I can see the stains of my lube on your body way better than you».

Gavin leaned his head on his torso, relaxing as Nines slowly pumped him, and God only knew how he was still standing: «Ah... What? Don’t you love to let other androids know we’re a thing?».

«I... very much would like to», moving his fist up to the hardened tip, his mouth watered at the thought of getting on his knees and eating him up, «If it’s okay with you... I’ll leave them be».

Gavin sighed and turning over, he slid his hands over the android’s shoulders, gently pressing them, no wonder the android now eagerly getting the message and kneeling in front of him, giving a tentative lick to his cock.

«Let them know I’m yours», Gavin moved the android’s wet hair behind, his big doe eyes so hungry and predatory as he engulfed his half-hard cock, tongue rolling under the shaft and going as deep as it could, urging him to lay his head against the tiles, head dizzy at the thought he was really getting a blowjob at ten _ass_ am in the morning as if his dick wasn’t already milked dry from the previous night.

And Nines was so pretty as he took him inside his closed lips, so rosy and pink as he wantonly sucked.

How could the RK900 still long for him, it was beyond wonder, but he had no stamina after that night, and maybe it was because the water was making him dizzy, maybe it was because that goddamn android was making such a good job at licking him clean, a phckin’ vacuum cleaner sucking him dry, but he could feel his balls tighten with every suck, with every second he felt touching the android’s throat and kissing the back of his mouth, the wet insides a warm reminder of how good he felt the night before.

And he was so hopelessly in love with him, that he couldn’t tear his gaze away from these icy eyes locking with his, that nose buried in his curly hairs, the slurpy noises Nines was making and the obscene way he blew him, gently squeezing his balls despite having only one hand.

He didn’t expect to be so enthralled by the pleasure to need to rock his hips, but he was no pornstar, and tenderly holding his face, he strained to keep his waist in place as Nines buried his mouth on his shaft, faster and deeper.

«You keep teasing me like this and I’ll cum, sweets», groaning, he tried to keep a hold of himself, trying to keep the android’s head in place to prevent him from sucking too eagerly, too fast for his attempts at restraining himself.

«Would that be a problem?», popping off his dick, a trail of dense saliva sticking from the pink tongue, Nines was now giving him a hungry look, cerulean cheeks _oh_ so flustered, «There’s so much data I’m collecting. I wouldn’t mind a bigger sample, since I couldn’t collect it yesterday».

Gavin groaned as a pit of sheer want pooled into his stomach.

Grunting, he exhaled a broken moan, tapping the android’s LED: «When we get home, I’m going to phck the hell out of your wires».

Seeing the timid chuckle lighting the android’s face was priceless, and as he felt his hand pressing on his stomach and letting him lay against the tiles, he completely let go, tensing as the RK900’s lips closed around his erection and his pace got mechanical and fast, fingers now traveling south to prod at his hole, gently and yet _oh_ so godly fingering him, buried deep to the knuckles, as the index and then the medium, grazed his prostate, hitting it repeatedly as Nines slammed his mouth deeper and deeper, raveling his tongue around his cock, awfully hungry for it.

And he couldn’t do anything but spreading his ass for him, spreading it as Nines extracted the fingers, pads cyan and buzzing with the cascade of information he was getting, and spit of them to lube them up, now fingering him with effort, no doubt mirroring what he felt the night before.

And Gavin could now feel it.

He was almost there, there was no escaping from his orgasm, no use playing tough and holding back.

«Nines– _God_ , Nines, _nghh_ –», bending over him, he tightly held his hands onto his head, clenching his wet hair as he gave one last thrust, feeling these fingers so smooth and now scissoring him open and hitting his prostate with assessed precision, tongue prodding his urethra and collecting the beads of precum mixed with lubed saliva.

No wonder, he finally came, choking a moan and trembling, huffing and heavily breathing, as he realized not only did his orgasm hit him so strongly he was still fucking himself onto his mouth, but Nines had no intention of letting him go, seconding his motions and blowing him effortlessly, now popping off his wet and cleaned glans and opening his mouth for the detective to see his semen still resting in his tongue, oozing onto the android’s fingers as he made a show for him to see, completely licking it off, before gulping it all down in one go, pumping the detective’s dick one last time just to see him jolt in oversensitivity.

«You... _huff_ ... are going to kill me, Nines», he heavily breathed in complete satisfaction, but when he reached for the android’s waist, trying to reciprocate, he was indeed surprised at the absence of... _something_ , «What about you?».

«I figured it wouldn’t be comfortable to wear it all the time, so I took it off. Is...», he tilted his head, deeply frowning as his voice shifted in a concerned tone, «Is it a problem? You prefer if I–».

«Hey, no. Whatever you have there, be it a weiner, a pussy, an eggplant, or nothing at all, ‘s not a problem, I thought I already told you. As long as you’re fine and comfortable with yourself, I’ll be too. And if sticking my fingers in your neck gets you going, sweets, I’ll do that a billion times. I mean, it’s hot seeing you getting off, why wouldn’t I want that?».

«Thanks, Gavin», Nines kissed his ear, giving a tentative lick to his helix just to hear the laughter coming from the detective, and reached for the handle, now closing the water, «I think having a genital component on all the time can be highly uncomfortable. I can see your struggle with unwanted boners, and my wires are already enough to handle. I’ll... do without for a while».

«Your call, sweets», stepping out of the shower, Gavin took a towel and now draped it over the android’s head, «If it’s not too late, can we stop by the precinct once we’re done? I’m sure Sixty will be elated to see you».

«He’ll downplay that»

«You can bet your ass he will», smirking, he started wiping the RK900’s chocolate hair, but as he took off the towel, he curled his nose seeing that he just retracted his entire skin, making his efforts useless, «Thanks a lot. I was being nice, y’ know».

«Me too. I was sparing you the time to dry my hair»

«You always have to have the last word, do you?»

«Look who’s talking», kissing his forehead, he dropped the towel on his head, «You need drying way more than me. Also, I already booked a table for us at the bar near the precinct, so it’s probably better if we hurry up».

Gavin grabbed the deodorant from the bathroom cabinet and drenched himself in it, spraying it all over the room and dancing under it, making a show of his body, basking in the sweetened and rapt gaze he was being gifted with, eyes of utter adoration as Nines draped his arm around his torso, fingers scratching his shoulder and feeling the scars on it, kissing the wet, messy, and still drenched hair: «So beautiful».

Looking at their reflection in the foggy mirror, he could feel shivers running all over his body at the feeling of the warm android’s embrace.

If he could, he would have stopped that moment forever, but his stomach made a rumble that it was hardly ignorable, no matter how touch-starved he was for cuddles and hugs.

«Welp, time to eat, huh».

He didn’t realize how actually hungry he was until they walked into the bar half an hour later, and the delicious scent of freshly baked pastries, sandwiches, egg rolls, croissants, glazed donuts all covered in colorful toppings and sprinkles were on display.

He was surprised Nines didn’t even ask him for help dressing – _the perks of being an android with no preference for the use of hands_ , and there was something nostalgic about seeing him in his Cyberlife-issued jacket after a long time, fitting in his black and white aesthetic, buzzing and radiating happiness as soon as he felt his neck finally extra-covered by a layer of cloth and fabric.

If that was what he needed to feel protected, he could start thinking of knitting him a scarf for Christmas or for his birthday.

Whenever it was.

Uh. He guessed he never troubled to ask.

Wouldn’t it be s _us_ if he asked now?

Or considering how traumatic his activation had been, maybe he should have asked Connor? Either him or Sixty. Oh, wait, scratch that. Sixty was a feral beast, better call Robo-Jesus or ask Kamski.

Both were better options than risking to get his hands bit off.

«Gavin, is everything okay?», sitting at the café table, Nines was quietly sipping his thirium, and honestly, it was difficult not to find endearing and cute how he slowly drank from the colorful light-blue and white straw, gradually savoring the caramel aftertaste of his smoothie topping, seldom licking the few residuals off his lips, «You barely touched your croissant and your espresso is still there».

«Uh, ‘m sorry. I was just, you know, waiting for it to get cold. ‘s too hot».

Cocking an eyebrow, the android tilted his head, no doubt scanning the temperature: «Is... something troubling you?».

He could tell that was enough to fluster the detective as he scratched his nose.

«Uh, I don’t want– _Shit_ », biting his lip, he just drummed his fingers on the top of the table, now avoiding his gaze, «It’s just that... I know it’s a delicate argument and you don’t need to answer me now. But, huh, s-say, if you had a birthday... when would it be?».

Nines looked at him deadpan, moving the straw on the foam: «I... don’t have one. I thought you’d know».

«Yeah, but like, huh», waving his hand, he stumbled on his words, «Connor told me his activation date is on the 15th of August and he just decided that this was his birthday. And I’m sure Sixty has one as well. If you had to set... a day. Just, y’ know, if others wanted to celebrate it. What would be yours?».

Taking a few seconds to think, Nines revised his memories.

«I guess it would be on the 11th of November?»

«The day of the Revolution, huh», he chuckled, now taking a bite of his croissant, powdered sugar sticking to his stubble and whiting it, «Well, hard to forget the date. Thanks a lot, tin can. I’ll make sure to give you some extra-pampering on that day».

He grinned as he saw Nines’ blush spread over his now cerulean cheeks.

«So easily flustered, sweets. Can’t say I don’t love this about you».

Ah... _this human_.

* * *

Entering the department after five months of undercover mission felt even weirder than what Gavin expected.

The commotion around the crack of the case and the hoard of journalists storming the Department was already gone after two weeks from the accident, and when they walked past the glass sliding doors, all that could be heard was the annoying and noisy ringing of the phones from the reception, the chattering and murmuring of the people in line, and the nosy stares of colleagues and agents that probably had given he and the RK900 for dead after months of radio silence.

Yet, even though he never minded their judging stares, he couldn’t help but curl his nose at the feared and intimidated looks directed at Nines, no doubt scanning the shit outta him, from the tall height to the blatantly missing arm.

And boy, only then did he realize the android reverted to his uptight posture by the time they stopped for the badge authentication, glacial irises avoiding meeting anyone’s face, looking somewhere in the distance, neck held high and jaw serrated as he stiffly stopped behind him, cutting their distance as much as possible, until he could feel the warmth coming from behind him.

He couldn’t blame his tension.

Nines’ LED was fixated in red hues, occasionally flickering in yellow gradients.

He had no super-hearing like the android, but he wasn’t naive enough to lock out all the snarky remarks that people were already spreading at their backs, whispers hidden behind their covered mouths, of that “ _armless Terminator_ ” who just came back from the dead to kill them all, of “ _Connor’s scary lookalike_ ”, “ _Th_ _e 6’4” murder penguin_ ”.

“ _I’ve seen the eyes he gave me the first time we met_ ”, Chester told him back then, “ _He’s an unrelenting war machine. You and those RK800s tamed a beast. Then again, who knows, maybe that’s why destiny paired the two of you together._

_Two broken souls, that make a whole all together_ ”

Nines wasn’t broken.

He was, but Nines was the glue that kept him together when the rest of the world beat him down.

Rolling his sleeves up to the elbow, he looked at the soul-mark etched on his wrist, and trailing his fingertips down the android’s white jacket, he reached out for his slender fingers, human skin accidentally retracting at the sudden and unexpected touch as Gavin now held them in his warm hand as he hinted a comforting smile, words unspoken as they got past the gates.

If he had to, he would have become the rock Nines needed, supporting him when the world came to haunt him down.

He sure wasn’t expecting for Tina to run towards them as soon as they got past the glass doors, now throwing a friendly punch to the detective’s shoulder much to his surprise: «Bitch, you didn’t call to tell me you were passing! Where are your manners, mr. Reed?».

RK900 tilted his head, scanners still acting up unconsciously to check for any damage, not even realizing he was getting an eyeful of the quirky agent, dark blackberry eyes now studying him, her peppery attitude sure a lift on his morale.

«Good morning, big boy! I see you’re better now!».

«I’m still... missing my arm», Nines frowned, LED circling amber but regardless gave her a lopsided grin, trying to make it up for that, «But thank you for your concern, Officer Chen. I’m definitely feeling better. Gavin is an excellent caretaker. I was lucky to be gifted such an amazing... partner».

He sure didn’t understand why, but in the span of a second, Gavin was now warm and rose up to the top of his ears, breath hitched as the officer just raised her narrow eyebrows, barely keeping in a burst of laughter as she snorted: «Jesus, you don’t beat around the bush, huh? Hold back or you’re gonna get him all jittery».

«Oh, shut the phck up, T», Gavin blurted out, cheeks even more flushed, jumping on the balls of his feet just to get some anxiety off his system, «‘m not jittery».

«Your heart rate is 120 _bpm_ right now, detective»

«Stop _detective-ing_ me», throwing his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he fidgeted with the inside cloth, «Mr. _Ass_ K900».

Tina chuckled: «Sick burn».

«You talk so much, for someone that choked on this cake yesterday».

Gavin’s jaw dropped, and right when he thought he was about to squeal out of embarrassment, a raspy voice came from the bullpen, indeed annihilating the last crumble of control he had over his body reactions, turning his face crimson from the spread blush on his cheeks up to the top of his ears, much to Tina’s enjoyment, now doubling over in laughter, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.

«Jesus, what’s this smoky smell? All this roasting ‘s gonna set off the fire alarm».

Nines’ eyes lit up as soon as his audio processors caught the voice range of the Lieutenant, his mouth turning into a timid grin as he met his azure irises, gruff cinder beard trimmed and hair tied into a ponytail, sporting a cocky but heartfelt smile as he genuinely gave him a pat on the shoulder.

«Well, anything you say for yourself, you two? Aside from the bitching and marital bickering», wiggling his hands, soul-mark so clear on his right wrist, he just cocked his head enough for him to meet Reed’s avoiding gaze, looking everywhere but his face, his façade of nonchalance and stubbornness barely keeping up considering how easygoing he had been until a few moments before, «Giving me the silent treatment, Gavin? Really? You should be proud of yourself since if you didn’t try to contact Connor when you got kidnapped, you two probably wouldn’t have been here alive».

«Uh...», Gavin grunted, anxiously scratching his scar, «Listen, thanks man. But ‘s not because of me. Nines saved me. So ‘s not me the guy you should congratulate with. You should be hating on me since he was this close to... you know. Just–».

«Yeah, yeah. Listen, Con already gave you the speech about that so let’s just try not to think about the _what-ifs_ , okay? Just learn to fuckin’ appreciate yourself a little more, Reed. You were a competent officer, and you’re an amazing detective. I would have let you collaborate with me in the past if it weren’t the case. You are good at your job, okay?».

Gavin frowned, curling his nose and keeping his lips tight, eyes burning, at a loss of words for once: «I–. Huh. I...».

Nines had seen Gavin on the verge of crying more than once. But despite all his readings told him the detective was physically fine, he looked about to explode into a mess of tears, pupils lucid, heartbeat raising and lips trembling.

«You know, heh, you really had the worst timing to show some phckin’ appreciation, old man. Just», grunting, he picked his eyes with the thumb and the index finger, fighting back the tears to no avail, «You really waited ten phckin’ years to praise me, huh».

«Yeah. I’m not the best person when it comes to motivating his subordinates. Hopefully I’ll have room to improve. You know... before I kick the bucket».

Gavin grinned, and as soon as the man fetched a tissue from his shirt’s pocket, he quickly snatched it off his fingers, wiping his tears off before the few people in the bullpen could notice his rare display of fragility, comforted as he felt Nines’ hand brushing his shoulder and soothing his back: «Connor’s gonna kick your ass if he hears you saying this bullshit».

«Glad he’s not around then», at the worry-some look of the android, he chuckled, «Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon. He had something to take care of, but he didn’t tell me what. And Sixty’s probably hanging around somewhere with him, considering the trends of the last two weeks».

Tina cautiously looked around her, making sure the bullpen was clear enough to speak, and prudently leaned in, lowering her voice: «Sixty’s been acting insufferable recently. And I’m not talking about his regular attitude. He hung out here almost every day to the point that Allen actually had to come here and take him back to his department. Also, he and Connor kinda have been spending all their breaks together on radio silence, doing that hand thing. Which’s kinda weird since when he came here was always vocal and snapped at everyone on multiple occasions».

Nines’ brows furrowed, fingers fidgeting anxiously.

Sixty was always tense, despite he loved to maintain his not-caring façade in front of others, no different from Gavin.

«I’ll text Con to let him know you’re here. I wouldn’t put past him that he and Sixty just want to spend some time with you in private, kiddo. After all, you’re not for big parties, just like our local gremlin here», giving a heartfelt pat to the detective’s back, Hank now sported a warm smile, no doubt making Gavin unnecessary blush with the excessive attention and praise.

Picking his phone from the pocket, he sent a quick text message and now nudged them to the break room.

Gavin seemed elated with the fact that Nines was going to join his brothers soon, after so much time spent on his own, and actually joked with him as he laid his head against his right shoulder, now sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee, creamy and foamy, a treat for his less upset stomach.

Seeing the detective kidding was comforting, especially as Gavin insisted on making sure everything was in place just as he last left it five months before and bantered with Officer Chen Tina and Lieutenant Anderson about finding something to personalize the RK900’s desk in front of his, still barely used by the time he joined the force.

Connor’s message suddenly popped up in his HUD, informing him that he was waiting in the interrogation room.

He didn’t have a _gut_ per sé, but he couldn’t fight the feeling that something was definitely off by the moment he excused himself and stopped in front of the interrogation room’s door, the authentication pad now glowing red with a notification of restrained access.

Retracting his skin, he leaned the white and smooth palm against the scanner, LED flickering yellow as he waited for the authorization to be conceded, nerves tensing with every passing second.

As soon as the door bleeped and slowly opened, he stepped inside the unusually dark room, hells clicking on the pavement, and jolted as the sliding door closed behind him, leaving him standing in the pitch dark, a loud bang unleashed in the sudden silence.

«Welcome back!».

As the lights suddenly turned on, he could instantly see Connor’s cheery expression and Sixty’s forced grin as they both held in their hands party poppers, the entire small interrogation room now adorned with party decorations and the table moved to the side, next to the giant mirroring window from the observational room, on top of which laid a thirium soda, blue paper tumblers, and a small cyan-glazed cupcake.

«W-What is this?», Nines looked at them dumbfounded, forehead wrinkling as he tried to make sense of what that commotion and secrecy were all about, only now realizing that there was a banner hanging from the ceiling that had written “ _Welcome back Nines!_ ” in capital letters in Cyberlife Sans.

No wonder he was even more confused as soon as he noticed that next to the small treat, there was a rectangular wrapped box, _a gift?_ , decorated with a cerulean ribbon.

Connor was wearing a heart-warming smile as he spread his arms: «We wanted to do something nice for you and thought this would be the best way of congratulating you for both your first _big_ case ever solved and for coming back!».

«From the dead», Sixty cared to point out, now crossing his arms, «Since you’re never too careful».

«I’m sorry», frowning, the RK900 lowered his head, avoiding meeting their chocolate eyes, guilt washing over him.

«Come on, don’t be mopey», Connor gave him a comforting smile, and walking up to his brother, he vigorously hugged him, patting his back and feeling the warmth of the white and black fabric of the Cyberlife-issued jacket, smelling of nice lavender softener. He couldn’t help but notice a few black hairs scattered on it, but he ignored it as he rested his head in the crook of his collarbone, «I missed you so much, Nines. You gave us a scare, you reckless little brother».

Nines frowned, enjoying the so missed and craved touch, now resting his cheek onto his brother’s soft hair, the smell of the Lieutenant’s house bringing back the memories of the days he used to slip into stasis sitting on their couch, with Sumo curling in a ball of white and hazelnut fur by his feet.

“Are you mad at me?”, he barely whispered, but no matter how low his voice was, nothing was unperceivable to his brothers.

He sure wasn’t expecting two identical voices giving him different replies, the harsher undoubtedly coming from Sixty, still standing in the back, teeth gritted as he spouted out the most poisoned “ _Yes_ ” he ever heard in his short life.

Sure wasn’t the answer Connor expected as well, because as soon as he heard him, he turned and glared at him, LED flaring red: «I thought we talked this out. Why can’t you just be a decent person for once. He’s here, isn’t it enough?».

«Oh, and what? Should I let him off the hook only because he’s still alive and standing on his feet? This is the bare minimum, Connor»

«Sixty...»

«Don’t _Sixty_ at me!», LED shining in a fiery red, he cocked his head, now analyzing his sibling’s stress levels, «Why you’re so goddamn scared of me! You really think I’m not happy to see you or something?».

«I–», lower lip quivering, Nines failed once again to meet his stare.

He knew that Sixty cared about him, he was the one to call for help, he was the one that cried for him.

But still–

«You know what? Fine. I’ll leave you two alone. It’s always for the better. I swear some days it’s easier to deal with Gavin than with you», Connor shook his head in disappointment, LED flickering yellow, no doubt communicating with his twin before stepping in front of the door, pressing his hand against the authorization pad, «I’ll be back in five minutes. See if you can wrap it up in that time, you nincompoop».

There were few occasions Sixty hated his line as much as he did now. If he could file a complaint to Cyberlife regarding the RK series (or his model in particular) he would be bitching about the inability to incinerate people on sight. If Superman did, there was no reason an android with inhuman strength couldn’t.

Glaring at his back, as the door closed behind him, he now felt all the anxiety crash on him as soon as he was left alone with Nines, tension riding on his chassis. His message of “ _Thanks and fuck you_ ” to Connor was left as sent and not read.

“ _Bitch_ ”.

Great. As if his brother’s silence wasn’t making it more and more uncomfortable.

Nines was stiff, his lower lip trembling in a quirk that he didn’t remember but only saw on detective Reed once or twice, posture as rigid as a cement pillar.

«You piss me off».

His mouth was unfiltered, and that was something he usually hardly regretted, especially considering he hated having to beat around the bush, lying his way through situations by pretending and honeying his words just like his brother in series.

Sixty’s motto was “ _y way or the highway_ ” and no doubt everyone still wondered how he could perform so well in the SWAT team when he could barely be civil with people and relatives. But truth was he never lied about his feelings but only tried to dissimulate them to avoid exposing his weaknesses.

And what if he was harsh?

He didn’t care if that attitude wouldn’t work with Nines. Honestly, he couldn’t give lesser than a fuck at that moment, as he met his stern eyes, corners of the mouth curling into a broken pout.

All he cared about, was throwing in his face what an insolent idiot he had been, and _hell if he was going to do that_.

«You have some nerve to show your face here, _900_. You go, throw yourself off a taxi to save that poor excuse of a human being, put me through hell for two _fucking_ entire weeks and then don’t even care about letting me know you’re out Cyberlife until this morning. And then, cherry on top, you show up with–», his words stuttered as his LED turned from amber to dark red, cheeks blushing with rage in blue, chin tilting in supposition, «With fucking stains on your face of that fucker’s DNA, as if I’m idiot enough not to infer what you’ve been up to! So I’m here beating my fucking thirium pump to a pulp because I’m desperate, you know? I’m fucking desperate at the thought that I was _this close_ to see my brother scrapped into pieces and his chassis becoming some human’s Pepsi can, and you _what_?! You’ve been just– having fun?!».

«So, what I’m getting from this is that you’re recriminating me for spending time together with Gavin?», Nines’ face was flushed blue but there was no way he was going to back up from that debate just because of it, no way Sixty was going to guilt-trip him, «What should have I done then, to make my older brother proud?».

«Wha–», Sixty picked the space between his eyebrows, grunting loudly, «You’re my successor, you should have already known! You’re always so stressed around me! I don’t give a fuck about what you do with human trash, I’m not here telling you that I may have fucked around with Allen in the bathroom stalls although someone, _and you perfectly know who I’m referring to_ , might have told you. I just–».

He stuttered, his system running ahead of his own words.

«I just...».

Nines frowned as Sixty held a closed fist against his chest, fingers tightening as the skin retracted completely.

The room filled with his exasperated sigh, chocolate eyes so lucid they almost looked human.

_Unlike his_.

«You’re going to do this again, won’t you. I can’t hold you back from doing that weird-ass shit anymore, can I?! No matter how much I’ll repeat you we love you, you won’t listen! You don’t listen to anyone! Even if that bastard told you, and he did, I know! Nothing! You still would willingly throw yourself in front of a running car not once, but a hundred fucking times if it were for him! And I hate it so goddamn much! I cannot stand it!».

As the android’s fist beat against his chassis, he could feel Sixty’s right hand reaching for his wrist, forcing his way for an interface, a rush of an uncontrollable stream of information now flowing into his system, mixed and indecipherable feelings of pain, grief, terror, memories of tears cried in silence, of Sixty sitting with Connor in their Zen garden as he cried his heart out, shutting himself out of the world as he kept his knees jointed and loudly cried only where his brother could see his weakness and the rest of the world couldn’t.

Nines had never seen him cry like that, _so desperate_ , no different from an abandoned child.

«I cannot stand the thought of losing you», Sixty leaned his head against his black shirt, hair disheveled against the cotton fabric, and the RK900 could clearly feel now warm drops wetting his shirt, much to his surprise, as the android’s LED blared red, shivering and shaking, face completely buried in his chest as he kept the interface open, «You’re an idiot. You’re an absolute deficient, you bufoon. You were supposed to be superior, more resilient and shit like that... and instead you’re just a goddamn huge, insolent, doofus brother. Amanda would b̶e̶ ̴s̶o̸ ̶p̸i̸s̵s̶e̷d̶ ̴a̸t̸ ̷y̴o̸u̸».

As his voice broke in static, he could feel his tears streaming out of control as he brought his hand to the jacket, now grasping it tightly and wrinkling it with inhuman force: «I am so pissed at y̴o̸u̶!».

«I...», Nines pouted, feeling a pang of sadness at his thirium pump, «I’m sorry, Sixty».

«Don’t say ‘ _I’m sorry_ ’! Don’t say anything! Not a word! If you do that again, I’m going to kill you myself! You and that poor excuse of a fucking human! That’d be better be a fucking deterrent for you!».

Nines never broke the interface, intertwining their fingers.

Everything coming from Sixty had the sweet connotation of unconditional love.

And no matter if his brother showed it by being harsh and tense, all the information and feedback he was getting were unconscious memories of life seen from his point of view, from the snarky remarks that he never meant, to the times they spent together at Hank’s house, to the day he rushed to rescue him, fear as he ran as fast as he could, ignoring his mission goal to obey Allen, his terror as soon as he saw the pool of blue blood by Gavin’s feet, the panic, the crashing preconstructions of his life without Nines.

Connor’s love felt warm and bubbly, information clear and easy to decrypt, but Sixty’s was a tangled mess, envy mixed with a pickle of admiration, attachment and fear of abandonment, desire of living up to his expectations and being more.

“ _His fragility pisses me off_ ”, he could hear the echo of an exchange from an unknown encrypted date, “ _He’s supposed to be our successor. Why he’s so frail. Why he likes you so much. What do you have that I don’t. I don’t want him to hate me. I want to be liked by him, just like he loves you_ ”.

“ _You talk a lot about ‘wanting’, for someone that lived in denial about deviancy even after coming back from the dead_ ”, Connor’s voice always had an edge of teasing, but that time Sixty didn’t take the bait: “ _Perhaps I just don’t want to be alone anymore_ ”.

Nines hiccupped, in his own attempt at crying, and shared his feelings back, code silently pouring into his predecessor’s system through the interface, feeling frustrated at the lack of his arm, for he wanted to hold his head and reassure him for once.

«I... never said I don’t care about you. I’m sorry if it came across that way and if I’ve never been explicit about that. But I obviously love you. You’re my brother. I wouldn’t have it any other way. And I also know that you care. I felt when you stood next to me when I was in for repairs. When you took my hand... when you hugged me. I could feel everything, while I was in forced stasis».

«You could–», Sixty’s face flushed deep blue, and despite being deeply buried into Nines’ shirt, he was cyan up to the tip of his ears as all his feelings streamed into their connection, melting with Nines’ appreciation and happiness, «Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!».

«Worry not. This will be our secret», grinning, Nines rested his cheek onto his hair, tension washing away, «I know you care Sixty. I never doubted it, and I admit sometimes I’m thrown off by your behavior and tend to avoid any kind of PDA knowing you don’t seem to appreciate it, unlike Connor. But if you... if it’s welcomed, then I’ll very gladly hug you too. There’s no reason I wouldn’t be doing it».

Wiping away his tears, he dried his hand on his brother’s black cotton shirt: «Just keep it private. I have a reputation to live up to into the SWAT team».

«Hm, hm»

«And if that poor excuse of a human is ever gonna hurt you, I’m coming for his ass, and not in the way you’d think. No one hurts my lil’ brother and gets out of it alive. That Jenny girl and his hog-tied sub were lucky enough I’m legally not allowed to kill humans or androids, because after the interrogatory, after hearing what she dared to do to you, I was _this_ close to go on a murder spree, trust me».

Relaxing into the one-armed hug, he could feel his shirt now damp with the android’s tears: «Don’t over-do it».

«Can’t promise that. I was brought back to life out of Kamski’s spite, and I’m here to make God, rA9 and all their children angry».

«Congratulations, you’re doing an excellent job»

Sixty huffed, as his skin got back on his hand and ended the interface, his successor indeed relieved as he scanned his stress levels and noticed they significantly dropped: «Yeah, I know. My disciplinary folder is getting bigger than Hank’s».

«I’m pretty sure Captain Allen loves an android with a big disciplinary folder», Nines winked at him, perfectly mimicking Connor, and enjoying for once the surprised and bewildered look on his brother’s face, so thrown-off that he took a whole five seconds before snapping out of his frozen state, no doubt wondering when did his successor ever get so bold to say something like that and how bad detective’s Reed influence must have been on him.

Sixty let out a dry laugh but his voice was cut off as the door clicked opened, Connor now walking directly into the conversation, cheery and amused: «My little brother?, making a dirty joke? What has this world come to».

Scoffing, Sixty now jokingly gave a shove to his shoulder: «Fuck off. This was our special moment and you ruined it».

«Of course, it’s my fault», Connor complied, and now eyed his successor, gently tilting his head in sheer interest, «I think we put off the celebrations for long enough. Why don’t we start already? What do you want to begin with, Nines? Treat or gift?».

Nines’ forehead creased as he studied his options, no wonder snatching a chuckle out of his older brother, as he assessed every option as if it was a matter of utmost importance.

His hand gently reached for the present, skin gone as he examined the texture of the paper, gently studying the colorful triangle-themed wrapping, but there was little telling from the rectangular shape of the box of its contents, and he didn’t think it would be fair to peek with his x-ray vision.

On the other side, the thirium treat looked fancy and like nothing he had ever seen before.

Thirium beverages were still a novelty, so it was surprising knowing that someone out there was already onto baking ( _producing?_ , his system corrected him) a kind of food androids could safely consume without having to do some internal clean-up.

He wouldn’t have minded taking a bite, just to taste what it would be like.

Taking the small cupcake into his hand, he gave it a tentative bite, much to the expectant looks of his brothers. The texture was soft and velvety, and there was a hint of vanilla and blueberry in the flavoring as the dough of crystallized thirium melted in his mouth, just like snow under the sun, leaving a sweet aftertaste that made his tongue sensors buzz with a rush of data.

Before he knew it, he was already eagerly giving the treat a second bite, and then a third, mouth stuffed and lips blue with crumbles and thirium, making a mess of his face, much to Connor’s giggle and Sixty’s loud laugh.

«Do I have some on my face?», Nines was now worried as he checked himself in the mirror of the interrogation room, no wonder realizing his lips were as blue as the blush now creeping up to his cheeks, «Oh... I did».

«How come you’re so goofy», Sixty took out from his pockets a fabric tissue and offered it at him, now catching the surprised look coming from his twin brother, «What? You’ve never seen someone carrying around a handkerchief? It isn’t so weird, stop making that face. I’m not that into licking shit off the floor and going around with traces of dog or cat pee on my fingers all day long like you. And the sole thought of being in contact with any kind of human DNA freaks me out».

«Oh, but you tolerate Allen’s alright though», Connor raised an eyebrow at him, smirking as Nines gave him a complying grin, now cleaning his mouth as he maniacally checked himself at the mirror, trying to erase any traces of the mess he made, «After all, you don’t see every day a piece of cloth with a “60” embroidered in the bottom right corner».

The room went silent as the only noise that could be heard was the click of the android’s jaw, teeth gritting as his LED spun red and his face was nothing but cyan.

«Connor, I’m not beating you just because I’d get my hands dirty of shit»

«I love you too, brother», Connor teased back, now hugging him out despite his grumpy attitude, «I see your anger management issues are improving».

«I’m this close to kill you, Connor», Sixty’s jaw clicked once again as he passively let himself be hugged, LED flickering crimson and yellow, patience shortly running out, «Please, if there’s a god out there, relieve me from this hell».

Grinning, Nines now cautiously folded the embroidered tissue, his scans no doubt revealing that it was a very treasured possession, number matching with Allen’s handwriting ( _Allen had an embroidering hobby?_ ) and traces of the SWAT Captain’s fingerprints on it.

That... was indeed an interesting finding.

He would have never expected such a level of commitment to a person outside family coming from him of all androids.

Uncommon, but still proof of how kind-hearted Sixty actually was.

«I wasn’t expecting a welcome back present», he commented trying to sway the topic as he restituted the handkerchief to his brother, now curious for the gift’s content.

Connor was buzzing with excitement as his successor took his good time carefully unwrapping the gift, pulling the ribbon, and cautiously making sure nothing would be ruined in the process. For a machine created to destroy – _a military-grade android_ , Nines was the most delicate and careful person he had ever seen, fingers always graciously trying to be gentle as he did everything, wary of not accidentally causing any damage.

He slowly unwrapped the paper, bit by bit, and even if the process was slowly done with one arm, neither his predecessors pressured him into hurrying it up, not now that his ingenuous blush was spread all over his face, eyes shining with marvel, so concentrated and focused as he removed the paper, finally uncovering what was hidden inside the box, LED yellow as he looked and scanned his gift over and over again, unbelieving, reading words etched in silver trying to give them a sense.

Sixty patted his back, nudging him out of his state: «C’mon, read it».

«I...», Nines furrowed, lips trembling in a turmoil of emotions he could barely communicate, LED glowing red, now holding the nameplate in his hand, trembling thumb brushing over the etched words, voice almost glitching, «“ _D-Detective Nine̶̯̟̐͠s̶͆̆͜_ ”?».

Connor’s LED flickered yellow, eyes blinking, and before his successor could comment on that, the door clicked open and Tina burst inside holding blue balloons obviously recycled from a gender reveal party, with Gavin and Hank trailing behind her, all joining her into a jointed shout at the top of their lungs:

<h3>«CONGRATULATIONS! IT’S A DETECTIVE!».</h3>

Nines looked at them dumbfounded, his gaze jumping from the nameplate to the small crowd cheering on him. Gavin was wearing such a happy smile, that it pained him now spoiling it with his unshed tears of happiness, no wonder confusing everyone as the brunet just started tearing up out of nowhere.

«I’m... a detective?», he still asked, so out of this world he couldn’t actually believe his own audio processor, stuttering as he tried to make sense of it, Gavin now awkwardly hugging him, no doubt embarrassed with the display of affection.

Hank warmed up, now smiling at him as Tina started distributing party poppers to everyone: «Kiddo, we tried to keep it as a surprise. Fowler said he’d make it official once things settled down and you two safely came back to work. He wanted to tell you immediately but I may have bribed him into letting us do the honors. We wanted to surprise you. Jeffrey’s a good guy, and as long as you get shit done, you’re good in his register. And, hey, you’ll do fine. Everyone’s in my squad is competent. Reed knows something about that».

«But...», his worried gaze returned to Gavin’s jade lucid irises, face blushing at the praise, eyes prickling with the android’s tears of joy, «What about you? You...», he stuttered, searching for the right words, preoccupation making his thirium pump tighten as he became more and more flustered, «Gavin, you’ve been wanting a promotion for ages. It’s unfair if I get it and you don’t. You’ve risked your life too, you were the one who called for help, and–».

«And I’ll get it someday, don’t worry about it, tin can», Gavin nervously chuckled, and focused on admiring the nameplate, the writing had the same font of the RK800s, «It’s okay. I’m not anxious about going anywhere, Nines. This is about you. At least now we start even».

«Gaaaaaay», Sixty rolled his eyes, smirking as he leaned against the wall, «If only I could puke. When’s Miller coming with the catering? If we’re doing this, we might as well get some fuel in».

Tina grinned, now urging the RK900 to the door: «He said he had to ask Person’s help. Couldn’t do it alone. You’d better apologize to her for putting salt in her coffee years ago, Gav, or she’ll never let you off the hook for that fine. Your choice».

Gavin mischievously smirked.

«Oh well, we’ll talk it out later. Let’s just head over to give them a hand for now».

And of course, the surprise celebration was amazing, despite being nothing extraordinary.

Funny.

He strived for years to reach perfection, working overtime, stealing everyone’s cases, getting on the nerves of every single colleague, ruthlessly snapping for the most trifle reasons, building enemies, burning bridges with Hank, just so one day he could climb to the top, make it to Captain and brush it in the face of everyone else – _the sweet taste of revenge_.

He envied and hated Connor for being a menace to his job, for making it to Detective soon after the Revolution came to its end. And yet, somewhere along the way, that stupid bot warmed his way up to his heart, and so did his bastard twin.

And suddenly, _suddenly_ he didn’t care anymore.

Maybe because what he had was finally enough.

It was enough seeing Nines’ tender attempt at smiling, timid, flustered, gentle, _sweet_ just like the way he tried to hide his excessive fondness for every treat and soda he was now being offered or incited to try, indeed overdoing it as he voraciously bit into the cookies and doughnuts from the buffet, spoiled just like he deserved to be.

If there was anything he was grateful for, was finally being able to see his soulmate smiling with his eyes and soul, happiness blooming and warming his mark.

“ _You think I could turn in such a monster?_ ”

Back when they were first assigned their mission, these were his words as they hugged in the restroom.

Nines knew what he was dealing with, but he never backed out; no matter how desperate the situation was, no matter how hurt he felt, how fiery, bastard, and insensitive Gavin had been with him.

Nines was still by his side, against all the odds.

As a partner.

As a detective.

As his lover and his _soulmate_.

As the days passed by, slipping into a new routine became easier, even though there were nights he’d still wake up to the RK900 trembling and shaking in his arms, LED flickering red as he reemerged from what were undoubtedly nightmares, a pang of burning pain on his soul-marked wrist and a tangle of tense nerves and fear.

Some nights, he found out all Nines needed was a strong hug, closeness, hands that held him, legs that tangled with his, warm and sweet kisses on the nape and over his nude skin, and promises of staying, confessions of love and care, arms that would hold him tight and reassure him as he slacked and completely went still in the detective’s embrace, snuggling against his body as kisses and caresses comforted him and steered him away from his fears, fingers holding onto his hand for his dear life.

Nines’ promotion to “Detective” was formalized a few days after the celebrations, when the case about the “ _Mauve Angel_ ” drug and the panic about the “ _killer-couple_ ” (recently also baptized from the media as “ _the hog-tied convict_ ” after some anonymously leaked footage about Chester’s condition upon finding) was sedated, no more dominating the headlines of newspapers and magazines anymore, although unfortunately becoming now the main topic of discussions and speculations during the afternoon and late-evening talk shows.

It was only after a week from their return that the message from Kamski finally came, a notification on Nines’ HUD that popped up in the early morning, no wonder making the RK900 tipsy as soon as he saw it, urging Gavin to change at six in the morning into the first pair of pants and shirt he could find from the closet just so they could hurry over to Cyberlife.

«A’right, big boy. ‘m coming, just... let me get decent. You don’t want me to show up there in my pajamas».

No wonder the android was already in his black cotton shirt and uniform one minute after the notice, leaving Gavin still awkwardly sitting on the mattress, gaze droopy as he wiped the crust off his eyes and loudly yawned, voice raspy and head dizzy after the sudden wake-up, especially considering he went from snuggling close to the android and enjoying the comforting warmth of the blankets to feeling the emptiness next to him and the bed turning cold with the absence of Nines in three seconds flat.

Six a.m. was indeed way too early for him considering it was a weekend, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to do for him as he slipped into the pants the android got for him from the drawer.

Dragging his feet to the bathroom and now brushing his teeth with one hand and trying to fasten his belt with the other as fast as he could, he could hear the cluttering noises coming from the kitchen of Nines probably opening bare-handed the cats’ food can.

The first time he’d seen him do that he almost dropped his jaw, hardly ever aware of how strong he could be, considering the tender pets the delivered to the cats, scratches, and caresses that made them curl next to him day and night, and the feather touches he was graced with within their intimacy.

After days of slipping back into a semblance of routine, he could finally see a decent-looking man staring back at him in the mirror, purple bags under the jade and tired eyes now gone, and even if his beard needed some trimming done, he could probably postpone it to a later time, when the RK900 had actually time to spare.

Especially considering how fond Nines was of rubbing his cheeks on it, brushing his face on the beard and nibbling it with kisses and gentle bits, skin on the grey lips completely retracted, enjoying the sensation of the hazelnut hairs on his mouth and tongue, in absolute adoring.

A quick spray of deodorant later, he left the bathroom almost proper, in shirt and jeans, chuckling at the sight of the android now cuddling Arsehole with his only arm, rocking him like a baby as the cat loudly purred, orange fur now staining the white fabric of the Cyberlife-issued jacket.

«‘m ready to go whenever you are, tin can», smirking, he walked up to him, and playfully grabbed the cat’s paw, gently squeezing his toe to make the sharp claws pop out, «Heh, heh, beanies!».

Nines’ mouth curled into a grin, and walking up to the sofa, he gently placed the cat on his favorite side of the couch, over a folded tartan plaid: «Be good, Arsehole. We’ll be back soon. And with two arms, I’ll be able to give you more pets and scratches just like I promised».

Gavin grabbed the car keys from the cabinet, and gave him a teasing gaze, now hugging the android from behind, resting his forehead against the white fabric of the jacket: «Will I get some cuddles too? I’m touch-starved, sweets».

«Only if you behave»

«I always behave»

«You flipped your finger at officer Person one week ago and told her to “ _suck it_ ” if she expected you to apologize».

«Hell, I don’t apologize to the rabble. Me no likey».

«And started a fight with Sixty when he said Lady Gaga is overrated», the android shook his head, resting the palm over the human’s hands intertwined over his thirium pump regulator, probably feeling the gentle whirring coming from it and the dim hue that made it light up at the briefest touch, «Thanks to the two of you, we’re now life-long banned from ‘T _he Whiskey Parlor_ ’».

«Listen, babe, he touched the Queen and _my_ childhood. I was legally allowed to go apeshit on him»

«You are a menace, _Detective_ Reed».

Chuckling, Gavin tapped his soul-marked hand over his regulator: «I’m menacingly hot». As he expected, it slightly buzzed under his touch, and he wasn’t surprised at all when the android turned with his cheeks almost flushed blue, grinning in satisfaction, as if he already anticipated these words and just had the confirmation to his preconstructions.

As they drove to Cyberlife Tower, it was blatant Gavin was trying in every possible way to keep the android’s mind occupied, anticipating Nines’ possible distress.

By then, the detective already had his fair share of knowledge about the crimes Cyberlife perpetrated against him, and he unfortunately well knew that edifice brought back bad memories, pieces of data the android wished he could delete or lock up, but that undeniably lingered in his mind and sometimes, when less expected, showed up as intrusive images and thoughts during his stasis, violently breaking the peace of his rest and popping up with awful augmented frequency since Jenny’s failed attempt at breaching his port open, putting him through the traumatic experience of being restrained once more.

He always avoided confronting these memories, ran away from his past as he locked it up and hoped no one would ever be able to open that can of worms, even less make him remember what it felt like almost touching death.

But no matter how hard he tried to escape from his memories of abuse and suffering, those fragments of data and records were still there, lingering in his brain circuitry, haunting him like a shadow, no different from the nights he entered stasis on the couch only to find Gavin wandering through the house in deep night or in the early morning, barely getting any sleep, rambling about his past, his scars and the wounds that he stitched alone and had to lick by himself, like the lone wolf he had always been.

And indeed Nines was tense.

He was scared of setting foot in the place that created and almost tried to kill him, but as Gavin held his hand during the road, and leaned on him as they waited for Kamski to receive them, everything got easier and more bearable, and the familiar corridor where the detective had fallen asleep for nights and afternoons, was now less scary as he never lost track of Gavin’s soul-marked wrist, Nines’ fingers always tending for him, trying to feel a patch of that human warmness as much as he could, skin retracted as he yearned for every ounce of contact he could snatch from him, content with the way Gavin’s head now rested against his left shoulder, eyes closing and breath slowing, relaxing in the contact.

«Sorry for waking you up so early, Gavin», Nines’ voice was apologetic, but he could tell from the grunt he got in response that Gavin was pissed at his unneeded apology.

«‘s good. Your sins will be forgiven only if we get some coffee on our way back».

His LED spun blue as he gently leaned in, briefly meeting his lips with the detective’s, faintly grinning in his own way of smiling, the aftertaste of minty-fresh toothpaste still lingering on his mouth: «I’ll make sure to take one with extra-cream. You need some pampering for being up so early on a weekend».

«You bet I do, sweets».

Resting against the wall, Gavin waited for what felt like an eternity until he heard the unneeded sigh of relief coming from his side, as the door to Kamski’s makeshift office at “ _Level –12_ ” slowly opened and the former CEO welcomed them in with open arms.

«Well, what a surprise! Detective Reed and _Detective_ Nines, I’ve been told», his gaze was wary and curious as he invited them inside, gesturing at the folded plastic white chairs in front of his desk for them to take a seat and get comfortable.

His appearance was in order in contrary of how Gavin had always seen him during his stay, raven hair neatly collected in a bun, beard trimmed and clean skin, his right hand now shaking the android’s, quirky eyes studying them behind the thick lenses of his glasses frame, irises blue as thirium.

«I must be honest here: I wasn’t expecting the two of you this early in the morning. You must have been really anxious about it, Nines. Silly of me to think you would be enjoying your weekend chilling at home».

Nines cocked his eyebrows, LED flickering amber for a moment before settling in blue tones, gaze studying and contemplating as he followed Kamski’s posture now slouching in the chair by his desk, grabbing the tablet and going through the readings as he spoke.

«I hope the long wait didn’t cause you any inconvenience. Androids are programmed to function efficiently even in the eventuality of a temporary loss of a hand or limb, but your predecessors, or, as you would call them... _brothers_ , are the triumphant proof that developing individuality can affect the preference over the use of a certain hand over another, as you can see with Sixty being left-handed.

Also, as you probably already know, when your unit was projected and was nothing more than a work in progress, the State Department already placed the order for 200,000 units of the RK900 line. The plan went south somewhere along with the revolution so everything about your model, save the original .pdf manual, was saved and encrypted in Cyberlife’s archives and you were the only surviving prototype ever produced.

After all, people out there don’t want to know there’s a Terminator at large».

Nines frowned at the words, ignoring for once the fact that the detective was now glaring at Kamski, patience so short he was actually this close from snapping at him, just playing it cool for the android to receive his arm back.

«Markus helped me retrieve and decipher the encrypted files and Chloe has a copy of all the data about your production line. Shall the need arise, you can give me a call whenever you’re in need of a new arm or leg», lifting his blue eyes from the screen, he now hit the android with a wink, «Or component of your choice and preference. There’s nothing the advanced technology that Cyberlife won’t be able to recreate».

«How about we focus on keeping all his limbs attached. Just saying», Gavin grunted, arms crossed as his knee nervously started tapping on the white pavement, the anxiety of the encounter now investing him like a train, the mere thought of something like that happening again tightening his chest in anguish.

«Of course», sneering, Kamski now met Nines’ steel irises, thin lips pressured into silence as his chin was held up by the tight shirt’s collar.

«Well, off with the small talk», rolling back with his chair, the formed CEO took out from under the desk a rectangular box with the etched number of the component and opened it to reveal a perfectly crafted arm, shiny white and light gray. Gavin’s uncanny grimace didn’t escape his sly and monitoring glance: «Worry not, detective. Seen like this, this limb looks no different from a mannequin arm, and the reaction of disgust and discomfort you’re experiencing is the most natural and common amongst humans. But it will come to life soon».

«Don’t say it like this, as if it’s gonna move and make its way up to Nines’ arm», the detective shivered, eyeing the RK900, that against all his expectations, was actually grinning in delight, almost amused at the thought: «Well, now that would be funny. Officer Chen would probably have a few ideas to take advantage of this, if it was a feature».

«Unfortunately, we’d lose half of our customers for sure, but I’ll concede that would make an excellent April Fools prank. Or Halloween trick», now gently taking the component out of its involucre, Kamski checked its state, and gestured to the android, «Please, remove your jacket and shirt».

Of course, his predatory stare wouldn’t miss for anything in the world the shy way the detective tore his gaze away, hit with the memories of the nights before.

Nines was beautiful, no matter whether he kept his skin on or not; he was stunning even as he revealed his white and gray chassis, especially in the places where he could actually touch and feel the seams of his body, where the parts clicked and connected and the lights shone with every feather touch, cyan pads on his fingers and palm lighting up.

Kamski cleaned his glasses and leaned in to study with clinical eye the exposed connections of his arm, looking at the circuits as he gently unfolded the wires to loosen them and prepare to attach the new component. Nines was tense under his scrutiny, jaw serrated, and Gavin wasn’t expecting for his left hand to reach for his, smooth fingers with exposed chassis now trembling, shaking in fear and tension and tightening around his calloused ones.

«Will...», his words were tentative, voice almost quivering as Kamski slowly, with delicate touch, unfolded the circuits, opening the waterproof connectors for the arm to connect, «Will it hurt?»

«I wonder. Deviancy is such a complicated and intricate concept that even reactions not coded into androids such as pain or pleasure can be so subjective and vary from unit to unit. It’s all up to your system, Nines, whether it translates these sensations to pain or not. Your model was equipped with pain receptors to be aware early enough of when to act to defend yourself and preserve your functionality. But you can shut them off whenever you want».

Nines pressed his lips together, fingers tightening way too much around Gavin’s, snatching a yelp out of him.

«Easy, there. We don’t want to break your precious human’s hand», Kamski teasingly joked, now drawing the arm component near the shoulder’s exposed attachments, positioning it to let the joint properly interlock.

Clicking his jaw, Nines now tensed, trying his best at easing the pressure on the detective’s hand, fingers now lighting up with the beginning of a one-way interface, fingertips glowing blue against the olive and rough skin.

«You should get a notification on your HUD. The component may take a while to install, but you should already have all the drivers for it. In case you don’t, tell me now and I’ll send them over».

The specifics popping up in his mind palace were detailed information about the technical characteristics of the arm. The new component was coherent with the one he had in use before and he focused his attention on skimming through the manual about it as he waited for the installation to proceed, following the procedure step by step, as Kamski’s voice guided him through it, tablet in hand as he recited all the parameters he needed an answer to.

He restored his thirium flow to the arm and relief washed over him as he could feel the sensibility on his limb slightly coming back to him as he gently moved it, fingers opening and closing in a fist as Kamski’s eyes shined with amazement and marvel, actually enthralled as if he was witnessing for the first time the miracle of life.

«Oh, would you look at that! That’s impressive, 900. Thirty seconds and you’re already calibrating it. That’s an amazing result», there was a bright smile on his face as he studied the way the hand and arm moved, joints fluid and motions as smooth as a dancer’s, and he proceeded on registering the new information on his tablet, only then realizing he forgot to address the human in the room: «Detective Reed, this will take a while, but I need Nines to do some calibration exercises similar to the ones we did for the leg. I hope you won’t mind to sit back here as we operate them».

Gavin tilted his head: «Just do what’s needed. It’s not like we’re in a hurry».

Nines’ scans didn’t agree with that.

Gavin was anxious, his heartbeat was elevated and he had been sweating out of tension for a while, lower body trembling, restless as he moved onto the chair, constantly shifting his position, nervous as he let go of the android’s hand.

The calibration exercises immediately started, and he was surprised that was he witnessed was no different from a regular session of physiotherapy he accompanied Tina to attend once or twice after she broke her leg years before.

Nines was mechanical as he executed all the commands Kamski issued him, numbers from a list of routine actions and micro-actions, such as rotating his shoulder, flexing the arm, checking how symmetric his movements actually were. Sitting with crossed arms resting on the back of the chair, the detective watched as his movements slowly became a perfect imitation of human behavior as soon as the former CEO gave him free-exercises, and actually stared surprised as Nines recreated all the gesturing he observed from him, such as tapping the fingers and drumming them over the table or gesticulating more than necessary whenever he spoke.

Kamski was scrupulous as he followed the movements to spot every imperfection, and ticked every box on the tablet with a satisfied humming.

«Excellent. It’s going smoother than I expected».

Nines sat through every exercise, from the writing assessment to the coin calibration that Connor performed almost on a daily basis, and was actually surprised as the former CEO, one hour later, let him off the hook with a paper of guidelines, prescriptions of exercises he should do in the days to come just to make sure the calibration was completely efficient, and if he met any problems, to seek him out at his private residence since he’d be leaving his makeshift office soon.

Kamski was a bastard, but not enough to ignore the tension the permanence at Cyberlife Tower put upon the android, and the last thing he wanted was having him in a distressed state.

There was indeed some preoccupation lingering on the android’s face, but his lips were sewed and he initially refrained from speaking up his opinion as he grabbed the paper with the prescriptions for himself, his gaze now jumping from the right bare wrist to the detective’s soul-marked one.

«Will it return?», his voice was tentative as he stared at the blank arm, now letting the fluid skin return over it and sliding into his high-collared black shirt, the covered nape a familiar feeling very welcomed to be back.

Kamski’s face was pensive as he studied his expression, relaxing on the chair: «Well, you’re asking the wrong person. Unfortunately, there are answers I cannot provide. As much as I’d like to, I’m not God».

«You really have an inflated ego», Gavin rolled his eyes, and as he stood, he double-checked the back of his pants for his wallet, «So, huh, do I need to provide you the data of the Department? How does this thing work? I– huh, you don’t work with insurances, do you? I don’t think Nines has one but, huh, maybe I can–»

«What are you talking about, detective?»

«This all thing. You didn’t do it for free, did you?», anxiously gesturing at Nines’ now repaired arm, he was surprised at the stare he got in return from the former CEO, so lost in confusion he was wondering for once if he actually did say something out of the norm. Nines wasn’t the only one with screwed social protocols. Being human was tough, and Gavin wasn’t born socially adequate either.

Kamski stood up, rubbing his hands as he cautiously explained: «I’m not doing this for free. But you’d be mistaken if you thought I was interested in money. After all, you’d never ask for money for taking care of your child. And RK900 is still one of the most advanced prototypes I ever had the pleasure to work on. I’d never expect him to repay me for saving his life. Seeing him and his predecessors walking on their legs is enough for me to be proud of. And besides, what’s this if not a challenge for myself. I’m not thirsting for money, detective Reed. I have plenty of it to live a thousand healthy lives. What I care about is knowledge. And I’m very curious about my creatures, as you can see».

«Creepy, but okay. Thank you very much. I’m broke as phck, so I’m glad we’re on the same page here», Gavin curled his nose, now walking to the sliding doors following Nines, actually antsy for once at the idea of finally leaving the place and returning to the peace of the bedroom. He was about to leave when his mind clicked with a question long-forgotten.

«You know. Actually, there’s a thing I’ve been wondering for a while», he turned, now meeting Elijah’s blue eyes, and he was sure there was a hint of grimace in the way the man returned his gaze, intrigued and devoured by curiosity, «If Nines had his signal out because of the frequency jammer and I was without my phone, how did Connor know how to find us? He told me you helped with the investigation, but Nines is a deviant. His tracker doesn’t work anymore. There was no way they could know where he was. Were you involved in–».

«I’m surprised you would think something so ominous about me, detective Reed», Kamski’s eyes widened, but he was grinning from ear to ear, especially as he met the android’s half-turned face, cheeks flushed blue as he now completely gave them his shoulders, «Well, I’m quite fond of putting emergency exits in my programs. But you can’t only rely on them. So when your RK900 sent me a request that explicitly asked me about “ _manufacturing a component necessary for the positive outcome_ ” of your undercover mission, it was blatant to me I couldn’t simply produce a custom Traci bio-component.

I had to go beyond that. What if something happened to him, after all?

And so, I put a tracker in it that operates on different frequencies. Of course, it was a hazard. But, oh well. I was certainly surprised to find out that not only Nines was equipped with it at the moment of the incident, but that it also had been recently use–».

«OKAY, OKAY, I GET, SHUT THE PHCK UP ALREADY», Gavin raised his voice, and _God forbid him_ , he would have never asked if he knew this was the outcome, «I felt better without knowing it. God damn it. I should have known you were a huge ass pervert».

«In his defense», Nines barely stated, fighting the blush spreading on his face, «That dick saved our lives».

«You told him it was necessary for the mission»

«W-Well, it was. I–», Nines stuttered, now walking out of the office much to the detective’s surprise, _last thing he wanted was putting on an embarrassing show for Kamski,_ «Gavin, I didn’t lie. I wanted to... have that experience with you. It was important for me. It is still important».

«Well, I’m not complaining. I’m just, huh, speechless? I mean, come on, only someone like him could do that», Gavin’s voice was soothing and empathetic as he met his cinder gaze, expression mopey as his look was lost in staring at his blank arm, «Hey... Nines, it’s alright. Don’t beat yourself over it. It’s not your fault, okay? So what if it doesn’t come back? I’ve still got it. This doesn’t mean we’re not soulmates right? What do people say? _Fate is never wrong_ ».

Nines frowned and as Gavin opened his arms, he gently stepped into them, now enjoying the warm and reassuring hug and dragging his arms around the smaller frame of the detective, squeezing his body against his, hungry for contact, to feel, _feel_ everything he missed in the past weeks.

“Hold my hand?”, he whispered in the hug, as he rested his chin on the top of the detective’s clean and silky hair.

Gavin smirked, left hand reaching for his right one.

«You don’t even have to ask twice, tin can».

His fingers timidly reached for the android’s slender ones, feeling the smooth retracted plastic, but as he rested into the calm and comforting hug, perceiving Nines finally relaxing and almost slouching against him, he felt a surge of electricity riding on his skin, burning his wrist, making his heartbeat jump so fast he actually had to retract his hand and break the contact, fingers now trembling as if he had just stuck them into the power outlet.

«What the phck, Nines?! What was that for?».

Nines’ brows knitted, now looking at him in sheer confusion: «What was... what?».

«That! Did the phcker really give you the tasing upgrade?», Gavin massaged his wrist, now grunting in pain, «Phck! It hurts so much! A kick in the balls would hurt only half as this!».

«I didn’t–», Nines froze as he noticed how his HUD turned red in half a second over notifications coming from his pain receptors, pop-ups of minor software instabilities occurring in real-time. And maybe it was because of the months spent by Gavin that his mind just momentarily decided to forget about it, bury that memory deep into his core as he now cleared out his vision from the notifications, realizing that that pain was something overly familiar, a scorching that he hadn’t been feeling for a long time.

And even if he couldn’t smile, he knew Gavin read right through him, now soothing his wrist as he met the android’s tender look, giving him a dry laugh: «The hell you’re laughing about. I got electrocuted for the second time in my life, and you’re laughing. Asshole».

«Perhaps», Nines reached for his face, gently nudging it for Gavin to pay attention to the right wrist, «I’m such a despicable android, for laughing at my soulmate’s suffering. Yet, I’m so despicable that Fate apparently decided we have to stick together a little more than five months».

Gavin’s eyes rested on the now evident soulmark on the android’s right wrist, the thick line with the double “V” etched on his bare chassis and Nines’ face now beaming with happiness.

Now, it was his turn to actually tear up, eyes lucid as he looked at their matching wrists, lips actually trembling over it.

«Heh, would you look at that, tin can», Gavin’s voice broke as his eyes watered, now biting his lower lip to hold back the tears already building up in emotion, «I guess there’s really no way I could get rid of you, am I right?».

Nines hugged him.

«Not a chance in this world».

Gavin smiled.

Everyone always taught him that _fate is never wrong_.

And after meeting Nines...

That couldn’t make him happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy and sad that "Accident" is over. Writing this piece was an amazing experience, and I have to thank the amazing Aurea for providing the original concept. This is probably one of the longest pieces I've ever written for a fandom. Of course, this doesn't mean I'll stop. I love DBH and Reed900 with all my heart and soul and had been here since 2018 (even though I started to publish stuff only around last year cause I was very insecure about my writing since English isn't my mother tongue).  
> Soooo... expect more to come from me ❤  
> This said, I really want to thank all the people who stayed until the end, that supported me with their comments, kudos, bookmarks, and even those who read and didn't comment. Thanks to all of you. I got here even thanks to your support.  
> Thanks, one thousand thank you.  
> See you soon, Steve. 🧡


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